Caquetá ‘king of cocaine’ Leonidas Vargas was assassinated in a Madrid hospital Thursday, Spanish police said.
According to reports, two men entered the 12 de Octubre hospital in the Spanish capital where the presumed drug kingpin was kept while being treated for a stomach ailment.
One of the assassins allegedly entered the room where Vargas was staying and shot him while the murderer’s companion guarded the door.
Vargas, who had been convicted by a Medellín court in 1995 to 19 years in prison for drug trafficking and another 26 years for murder, illegal possession of firearms and illicit enrichment has been free since 1999 when Colombia’s Supreme Court of Appeal decided to rule against the conviction of the lower court.
The Colombian allegedly was still active in the drug trade and currently investigated by Spanish Justice. He allegedly led the Caquetá cartel that controls the drug trade in the south of Colombia. The 49-year old Vargas was on bail because of a serious lung disease.