Colombia's best-loved comic, known for his scathing parodies of politicians, was shot to death by two gunmen on motorcycles as he drove to work at one of Bogota's main radio stations yesterday, police said.
Jaime Garzon's murder prompted outpourings of grief from government ministers and his personal friend President Andres Pastrana.
The Radionet radio network, for whom Garzon worked, said Carlos Castano, the leader of Colombia's largest right-wing death-squad, had claimed responsibility for the attack.
"This is very lamentable, a friend and a colleague has been killed," Mr Pastrana said soon after Garzon's death. "This is contemptible from all points of view and once again I want to reiterate that Colombians are tired of this type of violence and we must look for reconciliation," the president said.
Garzon, who was also a former mayor in a mountain region just outside the capital, was riddled with bullets just three blocks from the Radionet offices. Dramatic television images showed his blood-stained body slumped in his pick-up truck as security forces scoured the scene for evidence.
President Pastrana had recently named the comedian as part of a team of influential civilians entrusted with looking for ways to make progress in peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country's second largest rebel group.
In a recent telephone conversation with Reuters, Garzon said the government security forces had accused him of negotiating ransoms for people kidnapped by the nation's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). But no charges were filed against Garzon, who vigorously denied the allegations.