National Police sues José Miguel Narváez for Jaime Garzón murder and demands 564 million pesos
The National Police filed a recovery lawsuit against former DAS director José Miguel Narváez to recover 564 million pesos paid as compensation for the murder of journalist Jaime Garzón.
The National Police seeks to have Narváez reimburse the 564 million pesos paid for Garzón's death
Colombia's National Police filed on 12 August 2026 a recovery lawsuit against former director of the defunct DAS José Miguel Narváez Martínez, convicted as the person who determined the murder of journalist and humorist Jaime Garzón Forero, which occurred on 13 August 1999. According to information from infobae.com based on documents known by the magazine Cambio, the institution demands that Narváez reimburse the resources that the State paid to the victim's family members as part of reparations ordered by the State Council.
In mid-2025, the general secretary of the Ministry of Defence ordered payment of 564 million pesos to María Soledad and Manuel Alfredo Garzón, the communicator's siblings. The conviction fell specifically on the National Police and the National Army, who were ordered to repair the damages arising from the homicide.
The State Council ruling and the "criminal alliance"
The reparation originated from a State Council ruling of September 2016. The high court concluded that Garzón's death resulted from a "criminal alliance" between members of military intelligence and paramilitary groups. The ruling rejected the position that the Presidency of the Republic, the DAS and the Ministry of Defence had maintained for years, asserting that third parties committed the homicide and that they were unaware of threats against the journalist.
The rulings established that two men from the La Terraza gang physically carried out the attack, a structure led by alias Don Berna. The judicial decisions determined that the order for the crime came from the DAS by direct instruction from Narváez.
The Police's argument
The General Police Directorate argues that Narváez's intentional conduct was the direct cause of the damages for which the State had to compensate the communicator's siblings. "Mr. José Miguel Narváez Martínez is under the legal obligation to reimburse the entirety of the assets that the National Police paid for the damages and losses that his conduct caused," the lawsuit text states.
The institution also noted that Narváez was not notified of the administrative process in which the compensation was originally discussed, which requires that a Bogotá judge formally link him to this new proceeding. The prior administrative claim was directed against other entities of the defence sector.
"His conduct was conscious and premeditated," the Police stated in the document. According to the lawsuit, the former official induced paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño to order the homicide, pressured him constantly for the crime to be committed and provided him with information intended to link Garzón to the guerrilla.
Narváez's conviction and other background
Narváez received in 2018 a 30-year prison sentence as the person who determined Garzón's murder. A year later, the sentence was reduced to 26 years in prison. The former official was also convicted of the kidnapping of former senator Piedad Córdoba and for illegal wiretaps by the DAS against human rights defenders.
Former paramilitary commander Salvatore Mancuso stated on several occasions that the Autodefensas received instructions from Narváez. Mancuso also claimed that the then official gave a supposed lecture titled "Why is it lawful to kill communists?".
Scope of the lawsuit and ongoing proceedings
The claim does not seek to modify the reparation already recognised for the victim's family members. The process aims to transfer to Narváez the economic responsibility which, according to the Police, derives from the actions for which he was criminally convicted. The file also contemplates the possibility that other family members establish their right within the process, provided they submit the necessary documentation.
Narváez is simultaneously facing the final stage of another judicial process in which he appears as the alleged ideologue of the Autodefensas. The recovery lawsuit could open a new front of economic liability linked to the murder of the humorist.
Garzón, who worked in media outlets such as Radionet, CM& and ¡Quac! El Noticiero, was murdered 27 years ago. His death led to an extensive judicial and administrative process which, with this new legal action, continues to generate legal consequences for those identified as responsible for the crime.
Source: Google News CO — Crime