GUSTAVO GAVIRIA
COLOMBIAN DRUG TRAFFICKER
Gustavo de Jesús Gaviria Rivero (25 December 1946–11 August 1990) was a Colombian drug trafficker. As Pablo Escobar’s cousin and right-hand man, Gaviria controlled Medellín cartel’s finances and trade routes. He and Escobar had collaborated in their criminal careers since the early 1970s
Though he was the owner of a fortune comparable to Escobar’s and even had a military apparatus to his service, Gustavo Gaviria was not as well known, as he kept a low profile.
The events leading to his death are unclear. It is speculated he was killed by Search Bloc and the incident was covered up to prevent retaliation.
After Gaviria’s death, Escobar decided to turn himself in at La Catedral, a jail of his own making, guarded by his own guards. Since Gaviria died five days after President César Gaviria took office, at the time, the media and the country in general thought the president had begun his term with an offensive against the country’s drug traffickers.
Gaviria’s death triggered a counter-offensive by Escobar that initially destabilized the new president’s administration.