Juan Santiago Gallón Henao, a Colombian businessman with a decades-long history of alleged involvement in drug trafficking and connections to paramilitary groups, has been reported killed in Mexico, according to judicial sources. The incident adds a new chapter to a saga stretching back to the 1990s, when Gallón Henao was indirectly linked to the 1994 murder of Colombian football star Andrés Escobar, a crime that shocked the nation and the world. Though authorities have yet to determine a motive, the death of Gallón Henao, 62, is already drawing attention to his long and controversial past, including a 2010 conviction for financing illegal armed groups and placement on the U.S. “Clinton List” in 2015.
Juan Santiago Gallón Henao, 62, has reportedly been killed in Mexico, according to judicial sources who confirmed the news to journalist Daniel Coronell.
The incident is believed to have occurred in the Toluca Valley area, though authorities have yet to make any arrests or determine a motive. Gallón Henao’s body is currently at the Fiscalía del Valle de Toluca, judicial sources told El Tiempo.
Gallón Henao was a Colombian businessman and rancher allegedly involved in the drug trade during the 1990s. He was reportedly linked, indirectly, to the 1994 murder of Colombian football star Andrés Escobar, during the World Cup in the United States, where Colombia was considered a strong contender.
Escobar, nicknamed “El Caballero del Fútbol” (The Gentleman of Football), tragically scored an own goal during a match against the United States. His subsequent murder became a symbol of the violence and intolerance associated with organized crime in Colombia during that era.
Allegations of Illegal Betting
Santiago Gallón and his brother, Pedro David Gallón Henao, were previously implicated in Escobar’s death. Their driver, Humberto Muñoz Castro, confessed to shooting the national team defender and was later convicted of homicide. The Gallón brothers were accused of covering for him, but were acquitted months later by a judge.
In 2017, the Gallón brothers faced investigation not only for their alleged involvement in Escobar’s murder, but also for their connections to illegal gambling operations. They were arrested in Cúcuta in 2018, but released in 2019 due to the expiration of legal deadlines and a court order from a Medellín judge.
Learn more: Santiago Gallón Released After European Arrest
Authorities also investigated Gallón for alleged ties to the Oficina de Envigado drug cartel and for allegedly shipping narcotics to the United Kingdom and the United States, concealed within shipments of dog food.
Gallón’s 2010 Conviction
In 2010, a specialized court in Antioquia sentenced Santiago Gallón to three years and three months in prison for financing paramilitary groups operating in southwestern Antioquia.
He was found to have supported approximately 300 paramilitary members linked to the AUC (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia), under the leadership of Carlos Castaño, who operated in the Antioquian towns of Titiribí, Amagá, and Angelópolis between 2000 and 2004.
Included on the Clinton List
Both Santiago Gallón and his brother were added to the U.S. “Clinton List” in 2015, accused of being collaborators, financiers, and partners of the Oficina de Envigado.
Read more: The Cases Pursuing the Gallón Henao Clan
