2002 in Colombia

Decades:	1980s; 1990s; 2000s; 2010s; 2020s;
See also:	Other events of 2002; Timeline of Colombian history;

Events from the year 2002 in Colombia.

Incumbents

President: Andrés Pastrana Arango (1998 – 7 August 2002), then Álvaro Uribe Vélez (7 August 2002 – 2010)^[1]^[2]
Vice President: Gustavo Bell (1998–2002),^[3] then Francisco Santos Calderón (7 August 2002 – 2010)^[4]^[5]

Events

January

9 January – The Colombian government announces it is suspending peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and plans to enter the demilitarized zone.^[6]

February

20 February – 4 FARC members hijack a commercial plane flying from Neiva to Bogotá. The president, as a result, decides to halt the peace process.^[7]
30 February – Journalist Orlando Sierra Hernández is shot in the head twice while walking with his daughter in Manizales, Caldas. He dies in the hospital the following day.^[8]^[9]

March

10 March – Congressional elections are held.^[10]
15 March – Football player Jairo Zulbarán is murdered while at a public market in Santa Marta.^[11]

April

12 April – Valle del Cauca Deputies hostage crisis: 12 Deputies of the Valle del Cauca Department Assembly are kidnapped by FARC members with the goal of prisoner exchange.^[12]
26 April – Apartado massacre: FARC members kill 9 workers and place explosives at the Villa Lucía banana plantation^[13]^[14]

May

2 May – Bojayá massacre: An estimated 119 people are killed after a church is caught in the crossfire between fighting the FARC and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), struck with a cylinder bomb.^[15]
26 May – The 2002 Colombian presidential election is held; Álvaro Uribe of the Colombia First movement wins, earning 53% of the vote.^[10]

June

18 June – President-elect Álvaro Uribe meets with United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers in Washington, D.C..^[16]

July

15 July – Amnesty International issues a 'fear for safety' public statement on SINTRAELECOL Human Rights officer Rodrigo Acevedo and other union members. This came after multiple apparent attempts on his life and the murders of at least 160 trade unionist murders in 2001.^[17]

August

7 August – Álvaro Uribe and Francisco Santos Calderón are inaugurated as the 31st president and 8th vice president of Colombia.^[4]

September

23-26 September – President Uribe meets with U.S. President George W. Bush.^[18]
24 September – The U.S. Department of Justice unseals indictments against AUC members, including Carlos Castaño-Gil, for cocaine trafficking.^[19]

November

7 November – Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, a drug lord from the Cali Cartel is granted early release after serving 7 years in prison on the basis of good behavior, despite efforts by the U.S. government to stop his release.^[20]

December

11 December – Police discover a number of cars rigged with remote control steering and explosives, believed to be prepared for attacks in Bogotá. They manage to defuse 5 cars bombs.^[21]

Births

Deaths

1 February – Orlando Sierra Hernández, columnist and journalist (b. 1959).^[8]^[9]
15 March – Jairo Zulbarán, football player (b. 1970).
16 March – Isaías Duarte Cancino, Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1939).

References

^ East, Roger; Thomas, Richard J. (3 June 2014). Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders. Routledge. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-317-63940-4.
^ "How President Alvaro Uribe changed Colombia". BBC News. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Gustavo BELL LEMUS - Hay Festival". www.hayfestival.com. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b Publications, Europa (2002). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2003. Taylor & Francis. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-85743-138-4.
^ Kline, Harvey F. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Colombia. Scarecrow Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-8108-7813-6.
^ "Peace Timeline: 2002". The Center for International Policy's Latin America Security Program. 12 March 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Colombian peace talks suspended after hijacking, kidnapping". CNN. 20 February 2002. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b "The Case of Orlando Sierra Hernández". Global Freedom of Expression at Columbia University. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Orlando Sierra Hernández". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Colombia Cracks Down" (PDF). Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Colombia Monitor. July 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "EL FINAL TRISTE DE MUCHOS FUTBOLISTAS" [The sad end of many players] (in Spanish). El Colombiano. January 2006. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Ex diputados piden acuerdo humanitario" [Former deputies ask for a humanitarian agreement]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Incrementan seguridad en Urabá, tras masacre de nueve personas" [Security increased in Urabá after massacre of nine people]. Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 27 April 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Masacre de Apartadó 2002" [Apartado massacre 2002]. Rutas del Conflicto (in Spanish). 16 October 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ Grattan, Steven; Voge, Cady. "Bojaya massacre: After 17 years, victims' remains returned". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^ "The Friends of "El Viejo": Declassified Records Detail Suspected Paramilitary, Narco Ties of Former Colombian President Uribe". National Security Archive at George Washington University. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "PUBLIC" (PDF). Amnesty International. 15 July 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Visits By Foreign Leaders of Colombia". U.S. Office of the Historian. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ Ashcroft, John (24 September 2002). "United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Indictment". Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Drug Lord Is Released From Prison". Los Angeles Times. 8 November 2002. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Bogota Colombia RC Car Bombs 2002". Collective Awareness To UXO (CAT-UXO). Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[1] East, Roger; Thomas, Richard J. (3 June 2014). Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders. Routledge. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-317-63940-4.

[2] "How President Alvaro Uribe changed Colombia". BBC News. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[3] "Gustavo BELL LEMUS - Hay Festival". www.hayfestival.com. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[Europa-4] Publications, Europa (2002). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2003. Taylor & Francis. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-85743-138-4.

[5] Kline, Harvey F. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Colombia. Scarecrow Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-8108-7813-6.

[6] "Peace Timeline: 2002". The Center for International Policy's Latin America Security Program. 12 March 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[7] "Colombian peace talks suspended after hijacking, kidnapping". CNN. 20 February 2002. Retrieved 19 August 2024.

[:1-8] "The Case of Orlando Sierra Hernández". Global Freedom of Expression at Columbia University. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[:2-9] "Orlando Sierra Hernández". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[:0-10] "Colombia Cracks Down" (PDF). Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Colombia Monitor. July 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[11] "EL FINAL TRISTE DE MUCHOS FUTBOLISTAS" [The sad end of many players] (in Spanish). El Colombiano. January 2006. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[12] "Ex diputados piden acuerdo humanitario" [Former deputies ask for a humanitarian agreement]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[13] "Incrementan seguridad en Urabá, tras masacre de nueve personas" [Security increased in Urabá after massacre of nine people]. Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 27 April 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[14] "Masacre de Apartadó 2002" [Apartado massacre 2002]. Rutas del Conflicto (in Spanish). 16 October 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[15] Grattan, Steven; Voge, Cady. "Bojaya massacre: After 17 years, victims' remains returned". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.

[16] "The Friends of "El Viejo": Declassified Records Detail Suspected Paramilitary, Narco Ties of Former Colombian President Uribe". National Security Archive at George Washington University. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[17] "PUBLIC" (PDF). Amnesty International. 15 July 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[18] "Visits By Foreign Leaders of Colombia". U.S. Office of the Historian. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[19] Ashcroft, John (24 September 2002). "United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Indictment". Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[20] "Drug Lord Is Released From Prison". Los Angeles Times. 8 November 2002. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[21] "Bogota Colombia RC Car Bombs 2002". Collective Awareness To UXO (CAT-UXO). Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

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