2003 in Colombia

Decades:	1980s; 1990s; 2000s; 2010s; 2020s;
See also:	Other events of 2003; Timeline of Colombian history;

Events from the year 2003 in Colombia.

Incumbents

President: Álvaro Uribe Vélez (2002 – 2010).^[1]^[2]
Vice President: Francisco Santos Calderón (2002 – 2010).^[3]^[4]

Events

January

15 January – President Uribe requests military assistance from the U.S. similar to that of the Iraq War.^[5]

February

6 February – Social Protection Minister Juan Luis Londoño and 4 others die in a small plane crash near Tolima.
7 February – 2003 El Nogal Club bombing: A car bomb on the third floor of El Nogal Club in Bogotá filled with 200 kg of explosives is detonated, killing 36 and injuring more than 200.^[6]
13 February – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1465 is unanimously adopted, condemning the EL Nogal Club bombing.^[7]
14 February – 2003 Neiva bombing: A car bomb explodes near the Benito Salas Airport, killing 16 and injuring dozens more.^[8]
14 February – Two CIA operatives are captured by the FARC.^[9]

March

5 March – 7 people are killed in Cucuta when a car bomb explodes.^[10]
18 March – The football club Bogotá F.C. is founded.^[11]

April

6 April – Radio journalist José Emeterio Rivas is murdered in Barrancabermeja after publicly accusing the local politicians of corruption, his body is found alongside that of Paolo César Montesinos, a student.^[12]
30 April – President Álvaro Uribe meets with U.S. President George W. Bush and press in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C..^[13]

May

5 May – Guillermo Gaviria Correa, Governor of Antioquia, Gilberto Echeverri Mejía, Minister of Defense, and 8 soldiers who were kidnapped by the FARC's 34th Front are killed during a failed Army rescue operation in Urrao.

June

27 June – The 14th Andean Presidential Council is held in Rionegro, Carmen de Viboral, Antioquia at Recinto de Quirama. The presidents of Bolivia (Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada), Colombia (Álvaro Uribe), Ecuador (Lucio Gutiérrez), and Venezuela (Hugo Chavez) as well as the vice president of Perú (Raúl Diez Canseco) attend.^[14]

July

8 July – Opération 14 juillet
15 July – The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) agrees to disband.^[15]
18 July – Manuel Octavio Bermúdez is arrested after the murder of Luis Carlos Gálvez.^[16]

August

30 August – The FARC releases a second proof of life to the family of kidnapped French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.

September

15 September – The National Liberation Army (ELN) kidnaps 8 tourists from Ciudad Perdida.^[17]

October

25 October – 2003 Colombian constitutional referendum
26 October – The 2003 Fusagasugá City Council elections takes place, electing 17 council seats.

November-December

12 November – Miss Colombia 2003 takes place in Cartagena de Indias.
15 November – 2003 Zona Rosa attacks: Grenades are thrown into two bars in the Zona Rosa neighborhood in Bogotá, killing 1 and injuring 73.^[18]

Uncertain

Democratic Colombia Party is founded.

Births

Deaths

3 February – Fulgencio Berdugo, football player (b. 1918).
6 April – José Emeterio Rivas, radio journalist (b.1957/8).^[12]
25 April – Jaime Silva Gómez, football player (b. 1935).
30 July – Carlos Lemos Simmonds, politician, former vice president (1996-1998) (b. 1933).
21 October – Juan Harvey Caicedo, actor and radio personality (b.1937).
12 November – Jesús Manuel Estrada, Vallenato singer (b. 1963).
15 November – Alejandro Durán, accordion player, composer, and Vallenato singer (b. 1919).

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.
^ 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.
^ "Uribe pide a E.U un despliegue militar en Colombia "similar al de Irak" [Uribe asks U.S. for military deployment "similar" to Iraq]. Agencia de Noticias e Información Alternaiva(ANIA), URCM (in Spanish). 21 January 2003. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "At least 32 killed in Colombia club blast". CNN. 8 February 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Security Council condemns 7 February bomb attack in Bogotá, says act of terrorism threatens peace, security". United Nations. 13 February 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Explosion in Southern Colombia Kills 16". Fox News. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
^ McDermott, Jeremy (2003-02-15). "CIA agents killed or captured in Colombia". Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
^ "CNN.com - At least 6 die in Colombia blast". CNN. 5 March 2003. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "BOGOTÁ FC". Dimayor. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b Cardona, Libardo. "Stiff sentence in Colombian journalist's murder". 20 August 2024. Associated Press.
^ "Remarks by President Bush and President Uribe of Colombia in Photo Opportunity". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
^ "XIV Consejo Presidencial Andino / Declaración de Quirama". Sistema de Información sobre Comercio Exterior, OAS. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ Dwan, Renata; Gustavsson, Micaela (2004). "Major armed conflicts". SIPRI Yearbook 2004: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. pp. 95–131. ISBN 978-0-19-926570-1. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
^ Rodríguez-Torres, María Natalia (2019). "Manuel Octavio Bermúdez "el monstruo de los cañaduzales"". Bogotá, Colombia: Universidad Católica de Colombia. Facultad de Derecho. hdl:hdl.handle.net/10983/23196. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Ciudad Perpida Kidnappings and Modern History". La Ciudad Perpida. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ Dongen, Rachel Van (17 November 2003). "Grenades Hit Two Bars in Bogota". Los Angeles Times. 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.

[Europa-3] Publications, Europa (2002). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2003. Taylor & Francis. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-85743-138-4.

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

[5] "Uribe pide a E.U un despliegue militar en Colombia "similar al de Irak" [Uribe asks U.S. for military deployment "similar" to Iraq]. Agencia de Noticias e Información Alternaiva(ANIA), URCM (in Spanish). 21 January 2003. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[Blast-6] "At least 32 killed in Colombia club blast". CNN. 8 February 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[un-7] "Security Council condemns 7 February bomb attack in Bogotá, says act of terrorism threatens peace, security". United Nations. 13 February 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[8] "Explosion in Southern Colombia Kills 16". Fox News. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 2018-07-14.

[9] McDermott, Jeremy (2003-02-15). "CIA agents killed or captured in Colombia". Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-07-14.

[10] "CNN.com - At least 6 die in Colombia blast". CNN. 5 March 2003. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[11] "BOGOTÁ FC". Dimayor. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[sandiegouniontribune-12] Cardona, Libardo. "Stiff sentence in Colombian journalist's murder". 20 August 2024. Associated Press.

[13] "Remarks by President Bush and President Uribe of Colombia in Photo Opportunity". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-20.

[14] "XIV Consejo Presidencial Andino / Declaración de Quirama". Sistema de Información sobre Comercio Exterior, OAS. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[:3-15] Dwan, Renata; Gustavsson, Micaela (2004). "Major armed conflicts". SIPRI Yearbook 2004: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. pp. 95–131. ISBN 978-0-19-926570-1. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.

[16] Rodríguez-Torres, María Natalia (2019). "Manuel Octavio Bermúdez "el monstruo de los cañaduzales"". Bogotá, Colombia: Universidad Católica de Colombia. Facultad de Derecho. hdl:hdl.handle.net/10983/23196. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[17] "Ciudad Perpida Kidnappings and Modern History". La Ciudad Perpida. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

[18] Dongen, Rachel Van (17 November 2003). "Grenades Hit Two Bars in Bogota". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

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