Colombia acknowledges its responsibility for the murder of journalist Jaime Garzón.

25 years and 10 months after journalist and comedian Jaime Garzón Forero was murdered in Bogotá, the Colombian state has admitted its responsibility for the crime. This was done before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, marking the end of decades of institutional silence. The Agency for Legal Defense of the State, which represents the country in international processes, stated in a press release that advances in the investigation over more than two decades have allowed for the conclusion that the criminal plan was executed with the acquiescence of state agents.

The acknowledgment holds not only symbolic value, as it paves the way for new reparative measures for the victims. It comes after 14 years of international litigation initiated by Garzón’s family and various human rights organizations before the Commission. During this time, the Colombian state had limited itself to reporting the progress made by internal justice but avoided a formal admission of international responsibility. Now, it is doing so as part of an agreement with the victims and in response to a request made over a decade ago. Furthermore, it prevents the case from escalating to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, where a condemnation against the Colombian state could have been reached.

The assassination of Jaime Garzón on August 13, 1999, silenced one of the most incisive and free voices in Colombian journalism. More than two decades later, the country continues to revisit his videos and quotes: interviews where he denounced corruption, impersonations of powerful figures that exposed their abuses, and calls for peace amid armed conflict. His words and characters resurface during critical moments in political debate, serving as an uncomfortable reminder of the cycle of violence in Colombia.

That early morning, as he was driving his Cherokee SUV to the radio station where he worked, two hitmen on a motorcycle shot him five times with a .38 caliber revolver at a traffic signal. He was 38 years old. A quarter-century later, the case regarding his murder—classified as a crime against humanity—remains an unfinished puzzle, with several key files still open.

Although justice has convicted the deceased leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, Carlos Castaño, and the former deputy director of the now-defunct Administrative Department of Security (DAS), José Miguel Narváez, several files remain open involving names and testimonies that implicate other retired military officials and former intelligence agents as alleged co-authors. In 2016, the Prosecutor’s Office declared the murder a crime against humanity, allowing for investigations to remain open without expiring.

The process has been marked by delays, false versions, and threats to witnesses. In its statement this Monday, the Agency also acknowledges “that the violations and delays in the criminal process have affected the rights of Mr. Garzón’s family, particularly the rights to personal integrity and truth.” The investigation advanced for a long time under the unfounded claim that the murder had been ordered by guerrillas, while the officials of the former DAS sought to divert attention. It was only in 2009, thanks to new statements from former paramilitaries, that the line pointing to paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño and members of state security agencies solidified. One key witness, paramilitary Francisco Villalba, who implicated high-ranking military officials and DAS personnel in the Garzón case, was murdered that same year. In the previous years, he had reported threats due to his statements in this and other legal proceedings.

The emblematic case of the assassination does not go unnoticed by President Gustavo Petro. Last August, when the 25th anniversary of the crime was commemorated, he mentioned it on X. “In his name, I held the first debate about the DAS, which uncovered the intellectual authors of his crime,” he stated, affirming that “in Colombia, violence cannot continue to be used to silence differences.” His closeness to the family has been such that in June 2023, he appointed Marisol Garzón, sister of the murdered journalist and the most visible face of her brother’s struggle, as consul in Cancun (Mexico). However, the Council of State annulled the appointment in 2024, concluding that it did not meet legal requirements, given that there were career diplomatic officials available for the position who were not considered in the selection.