Danilo González
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Danilo González | |
|---|---|
| Born | Danilo Alfonso González Gil 1959 |
| Died | March 25, 2004 (aged 44–45) |
| Alma mater | General Santander National Police Academy |
| Known for | Policeman, double-agent and businessman |
| Police career | |
| Department | Colombian National Police |
| Service years | 1994–2000 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Danilo Alfonso González Gil (1959 in Buga – March 25, 2004, in Bogotá) was a former Lieutenant Colonel of the Colombian National Police. He became director of intelligence for GAULA, thus a key player in the rescue of the kidnapped brother of former President César Gaviria.[1]
Gonzalez's life was controversial, as although he is considered an exemplary police officer and a key player in the fight against drug trafficking in Colombia, others consider him a double agent who worked in conjunction with the Cali and Norte del Valle cartels with the acquiescence of the government, which eventually demanded his resignation. He was assassinated in Bogotá on the orders of drug trafficker Don Diego as he was preparing to surrender to US justice. At the time he was a shareholder in several hotels and owner of several real estate properties.
González Gil was born in Buga, Valle del Cauca, the youngest of a family of eight children dedicated to coffee cultivation. His father was killed when González was just a child. As a teenager, González went to Bogotá and then enrolled in the General Santander Police Cadet School, where he was recognised as an outstanding student, graduating as the best student in 1977. He was sent to Barranquilla to fight crime in that city.[2]
War against the Medellín Cartel
Due to his intelligence training in Argentina, González was selected to form the Elite Command whose mission was to capture the leader of the Medellín Cartel, Pablo Escobar. This was the first stage that culminated in June 1991 when Escobar was imprisoned in La Catedral prison in Envigado.[3]
In 1992, when Escobar escaped from prison, the Search Bloc was reactivated and an alliance between the Cali Cartel, paramilitaries; which created Los Pepes.
González maintained contacts with the Pepes, obtaining information to capture Escobar, which was achieved on December 2, 1993, although it is rumoured that at the time of Escobar's capture, González was on holiday in Cartagena.
Subsequent career and resignation
In Ernesto Samper's government he was appointed director of the police anti-kidnapping squad GAULA. In 1996 González once again allied with drug trafficker Victor Patiño-Fomeque to secure the release of Juan Carlos Gaviria, brother of former Colombian President César Gaviria. Gonzalez is believed to have orchestrated the kidnapping to further destabilise the Samper government, which was affected by Proceso 8000.[4]
González at the same time got credit for apparently commanding the police squad that killed drug lord José Santacruz Londoño, in an alleged alliance with paramilitary chief Carlos Castaño Gil, which turned out to be a set-up as Castaño would kill Santacruz at the instigation of the Norte del Valle Cartel.[5][6][7]
His forced resignation, imposed by the government, was apparently due to his closeness to the underworld, although according to Andrés López in his book El Cartel de los sapos, this relationship had been well known since his involvement with the police.[8] González later worked with drug traffickers Luis Hernando Gómez Rasguño and Wilber Varela Jabón in security and as a liaison with the police, who were corrupted by drug traffickers.[9] Rasguño accuses him of having assassinated conservative leader Álvaro Gómez Hurtado.[10][11][12][13][14] At the same time, in Jorge 40's book, he mentions that in May 1997 Salvatore Mancuso and eight other men were imprisoned one night and interrogated by a prosecutor, who, through the efforts of paramilitary leader González, arrived with an order from the police commander to let them go.[15][16]