Lucho Herrera Questioned Over Alleged Role in 2002 Murders
FORMER TOP CYCLIST Luis 'Lucho' Herrera appeared before Colombian prosecutors Thursday, to address claims he was involved in the murder of four farmers decades ago.
Sixty-four-year-old Herrera voluntarily appeared at the offices of prosecutors in the capital Bogota, AFP reporters witnessed.
He was to be questioned about allegations by two former paramilitaries that in 2002 he conspired to kill four of his neighbors in central Colombia.
The two ex-paramilitaries -- members of one of the bloody far-right death squads that for decades fought Colombia left-wing guerrillas -- claim 'Lucho' gave them about $9,700 to murder four men.
They alleged that Herrera claimed the men were rebels who wanted to kidnap him, but were in fact farmers who had refused to sell their land.
One of the paramilitaries was recently sentenced to more than 22 years in prison over the forced disappearance of the men.
A source from the prosecutor's office told AFP that Herrera had been invited to provide his 'free version' of events, and was not obliged to attend as he is not listed as a defendant.
Herrera has publicly denied belonging to criminal organizations or purposely causing anyone harm. But he could yet face formal charges.
His brother Rafael Herrera was also requested to be present Thursday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe shot, suspect arrested
BOGOTA: Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe was shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to the government and his party, and local media reported that he was in a local hospital in serious condition. The 39-year-old senator, who is running for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related. According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when 'armed subjects shot him in the back.' The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe's condition. Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said a suspect had been arrested in the shooting and that authorities were investigating whether others were involved. Sanchez said he had visited the hospital where Uribe was being treated. Colombia's presidency issued a statement saying the government 'categorically and forcefully' rejected the violent attack, and called for a thorough investigation into the events that took place. Uribe is from a prominent family in Colombia, with links to the country's Liberal Party. His father was a businessman and union leader. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by an armed group under the command of the late cartel leader Pablo Escobar. She was killed during a rescue operation. Colombia has for decades been embroiled in a conflict between leftist rebels, criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government. Leftist President Gustavo Petro sympathized with the senator's family in a message on X, saying, 'I don't know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a homeland.'
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Shot at Campaign Event
BOGOTA: Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe was shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to the government and his party, and local media reported that he was in a local hospital in serious condition. The 39-year-old senator, who is running for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related. According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when 'armed subjects shot him in the back.' The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe's condition. Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said a suspect had been arrested in the shooting and that authorities were investigating whether others were involved. Sanchez said he had visited the hospital where Uribe was being treated. Colombia's presidency issued a statement saying the government 'categorically and forcefully' rejected the violent attack, and called for a thorough investigation into the events that took place. Uribe is from a prominent family in Colombia, with links to the country's Liberal Party. His father was a businessman and union leader. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by an armed group under the command of the late cartel leader Pablo Escobar. She was killed during a rescue operation. Colombia has for decades been embroiled in a conflict between leftist rebels, criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government. Leftist President Gustavo Petro sympathized with the senator's family in a message on X, saying, 'I don't know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a homeland.'
Daily Express
an hour ago
- Daily Express
Trump's crackdown escalates
Published on: Sunday, June 08, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jun 08, 2025 By: AFP Text Size: A man is detained by plain clothes officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the hallway outside of a courtroom. LOS ANGELES: Masked and armed federal agents carried out sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles Friday, while others pounced on migrants at a New York courthouse, in forceful displays of US President Donald Trump's crackdown on people without papers. From courthouses to hardware store parking lots in two of the most diverse cities in the world, federal agents wrestled migrants into handcuffs and unmarked vehicles. Advertisement Agents used extreme tactics, conducting unprecedented raids on at least three areas of Los Angeles to detain dozens of people. At one sweep less than two miles from Los Angeles City Hall, agents threw flash-bang grenades to disperse angry crowds of people following alongside a convoy of ICE vehicles, as protesters hurled eggs and epithets at the agents, media reported. 'As a Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place,' LA Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. 'These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city.' Advertisement White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who grew up in LA's Santa Monica community, responded on X, insisting that Bass had 'no say in this at all.' 'Federal law is supreme and federal law will be enforced.' Service Employees International Union leader David Huerta was among those briefly detained in Los Angeles. 'Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals,' Huerta said in a statement after his release. Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe told the Los Angeles Times that federal agents were executing search warrants related to the harboring of people illegally in the country. As the sun set in Los Angeles, broadcaster ABC7 reported a growing standoff as hundreds of protesters marched downtown to demand the release of detainees, where police officers in riot gear ordered them to disperse. Across the country in New York, US agents in plainclothes pounced on two immigrants in the hallway of a New York courthouse Friday. AFP saw the officers yell for the men not to move before forcing them to lay face-down on the ground as they were cuffed and arrested. It was not immediately clear exactly why these two men were arrested. Trump was elected to a second term with broad support for his promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants. In recent weeks ICE agents have intensified such operations in and around American immigration courts. After Trump swept back into power in January, the Department of Homeland Security revoked regulations that limited agents' access to protected areas like the courts. One of the men arrested in New York was a 34-year-old Dominican named Joaquin Rosario who arrived in the United States a year ago, registered as he came in, and who had his first immigration hearing Friday, a relative named Julian Rosario said. 'He was at ease. He did not think anything was going to happen,' the relative said, adding that Rosario was so unworried he had not brought his lawyer with him. The other detainee looked to be Asian. He arrived accompanied only by one of many immigration advocacy group volunteers who walk immigrants to and from the courtroom. The volunteers screamed out as the agents arrested the two men, but it did nothing to halt the raid. Human rights groups are outraged by these operations, arguing that they sap trust in the courts and make immigrants wary of showing up for appointments as they try to gain US residency. 'They're illegal abductions,' said Karen Ortiz, herself a court employee who was demonstrating Friday against these sudden arrests of migrants. 'We need to sound the alarm and show the public how serious this is and one way we can do that is actually physically putting ourselves between a masked ICE agent and someone they're trying to detain and send away,' she told AFP. Since returning to power Trump has dramatically tested the limits of executive power to crack down on foreigners without papers, arguing that the United States is being invaded by criminals and other undesirables. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
