The Colombian public prosecutor’s office announced on Wednesday the opening of an investigation for “forced disappearance” targeting former cycling champion Luis “Lucho” Herrera, suspected of being involved in the murder of four peasants in 2002. The 64-year-old Colombian sports legend was brought before the courts by two former paramilitaries who say they were paid by him for the disappearance, then the death, of neighbors who refused to sell him their land to Fusagasuga, a town in the center of the country.
The winner of the 1987 Tour of Spain, a former climber with three stage victories in the Tour de France, appeared in court on his own in June to deny any involvement in these murders. Rafael Herrera, the brother of the former cyclist, was also mentioned in the accusations of the ex-paramilitaries, former members of far-right squads trained to fight communist guerrillas in the Latin American country plagued by armed groups.
An offense punishable by 26 to 45 years
The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that it had decided to open an investigation after finding “material evidence” indicating that the Herrera brothers had contacted members of a paramilitary group so that they would “take away against their will” the peasants.
Luis and Rafael Herrera were summoned to a hearing on February 6 to answer “for the crime of forced disappearance”, punishable by a prison sentence of 26 to 45 years. The prosecution also indicated that the bodies of two of the victims were found in 2008 and returned to their families last December. The other two have not yet been found.
According to the ex-paramilitaries, already convicted for these acts, the remains were buried on land belonging to the former champion. Nicknamed the “little gardener of Fusagasuga” and considered one of the best Latin American climbers in history, Luis Herrera maintains that his involvement in this affair is a frame-up intended to “sully” his name.
