Gunmen Slay a Colombian Satirist

From the president to police officers to schoolchildren, Colombians were in mourning Friday after two gunmen on a motorcycle killed Jaime Garzon, a prominent satirist described as “an aspirin for the country’s pain.”

Garzon died at the scene of the dawn attack here two blocks from the studio of the Radionet radio station where he was a morning host, police said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing.

“We’re living in such extremes in Colombia that a bullet could come from any side,” said Julio Sanchez, a broadcast director who worked with the 38-year-old performer.

The slaying of a seemingly harmless media personality and peace advocate was yet another tragic reminder of the continued violence in this nation despite the start of talks in January between the government and the country’s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, more than 850 Colombians have been killed this year by rebels and their paramilitary foes.

Upon learning of the assassination, President Andres Pastrana suspended a trip to the remote town of Narino, which was devastated last week in a guerrilla attack. The president characterized Garzon as the guardian of Colombians’ unexpressed thoughts and insisted that the killers would be brought to justice.

“It wasn’t just that he made us laugh,” Pastrana said in a radio interview about his longtime friend. “Jaime in large part identified with the sentiments of Colombians, with what we were thinking.”

In his most popular sketches, Garzon disguised himself as Heriberto de la Calle, a threadbare shoeshine man who knelt before Cabinet members and visiting dignitaries, mumbling scathing insults at them while he polished their shoes.

A gifted mimic, Garzon also once hosted a mock news show in which he called up aspiring politicians, assumed the identity of then-President Cesar Gaviria and “named” them to prized government posts. In another of his political satire shows, Garzon created Dioselina, a maid at the presidential palace who irreverently gossiped about politicians’ sexual orientations using food motifs.

Beyond his popular improvised skits, colleagues also remembered Garzon for being a proponent of peace who used rebel contacts to help negotiate the release of kidnapping victims held by insurgents.

Journalists suggested that this involvement with rebel groups might have provoked right-wing private militias, which are known to target suspected guerrilla sympathizers. However, Colombia’s major paramilitary group, in a fax sent to local radio stations, denied responsibility for Friday’s attack.

“No one can believe that a humane cause, such as meeting with a commander in the mountains or with a family member of a kidnapping victim, would be a reason for an assassination,” said Sanchez, the broadcast director, who described Garzon as shy and retiring.

Garzon had received death threats and planned to meet with paramilitary leader Carlos Castano this weekend, colleagues said. Radionet newscasters said Garzon did not employ bodyguards, despite the threats.

“His humor and his goodwill were his shield,” one colleague said.

The Colombian government offered the equivalent of $268,000 as a reward for information leading to the capture of those responsible for killing Garzon. Describing Garzon as “a humanitarian,” national police commander Gen. Rosso Jose Serrano said the comedian was shot while driving to work in a Jeep Cherokee shortly before 6 a.m. The two assailants rode a white motorcycle.

Hours later, the post where Garzon’s vehicle came to rest was covered with flowers, pictures of the Virgin Mary and cards expressing condolences, many from children.

Radionet reporters launched a tribute to their colleague, titled “They Killed the Smile,” and read notes from listeners, one describing Garzon as “an aspirin for the country’s pain.”