On October 11 , 1987 , candidate Jaime Pardo Leal was assassinated . Then , the March 3 , 1989 El Dorado airport attack then claimed the life of Unión Patriótica leader José Antequera and injured future president Ernesto Samper . The arguably most critical event took place on August 19 , 1989 when Galán was shot on stage during a rally . After these assassinations , it was César Gaviria who took Galán ’s place as Liberal Party candidate for the presidency . A failed assassination attempt on Gaviria resulted in the bombing of Avianca Flight 203 , claiming the lives of 107 . This event bolstered support for Gaviria , who took a hard anti-trafficker political stance and supported extradition of traffickers to prison in the United States . This was a blow to the drug lords , who had done their best to stop any pro-extradition candidate from getting into office
Avianca Flight 203
Avianca Flight 203
1990 Colombian presidential election