Ride-hailing driver murdered in Bogotá had been working for just three days: two arrested
Juan Pablo Vargas, 26, was killed in Usaquén on 22 July after being forcibly removed from his vehicle. Two of the three suspected perpetrators were captured that same night.
Murder of driver in Usaquén recorded by security camera
According to noticiascaracol.com, on 22 July, Juan Pablo Vargas, a 26-year-old ride-hailing platform driver originally from the municipality of Belén in Boyacá, was murdered in the Villa Nidia sector in the upper part of the Usaquén locality. The homicide was recorded by a security camera.
The footage shows three criminals forcing Vargas out of his vehicle, a grey Kia Picanto, before shooting him multiple times. Wounded by several gunshot impacts, the young man attempted to run, but one of the attackers caught up with him and shot him again. In the recording, Vargas can be heard before his death: "Please no, don't do anything to me (...) Don't do anything to me, I'm getting out, don't do anything to me".
Vargas was the father of a young daughter and had come to Bogotá in search of better opportunities after working for several years in a coal mine near his home municipality. According to those close to him, he had been working with the ride-hailing application for barely three days, with the aim of saving money to renew his driving licence. He was the fourth of five siblings and those who knew him remembered him as a good father, brother, friend and worker.
One day before the crime, Vargas had participated in a procession in Bogotá to commemorate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
The same night of the homicide, two of the three suspected perpetrators were arrested after the stolen vehicle overturned in the El Codito sector. A security guard reportedly recorded the moment when the individuals apparently fled down a street in the north of the city.
During the charge confirmation hearing, the two detainees—aged 18 and 20, both Venezuelan nationals—did not accept the charges of aggravated homicide, theft and illegal possession of firearms.
Over the weekend, Vargas's family and friends bid him farewell in Belén with a walk to the local cemetery and demanded justice. The family is calling for the full rigour of the law to be applied to those responsible for the crime. In his memory, they also held a candlelit vigil.
Source: Google News CO — Bogotá