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A man tied to the killing of Colombian soccer player Andrés Escobar shot dead in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A man allegedly tied to the killing of Colombian soccer player Andrés Escobar days after he scored an own goal during the 1994 World Cup was shot dead in Mexico, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday.

Petro wrote on X that Santiago Gallón, an alleged Colombian drug trafficker who was sentenced to prison in 2010 for financing paramilitary groups in the South American nation, had been killed. He wrote that Gallón had allegedly killed Escobar, a killing that “destroyed the country’s international image.”

The killing took place in Medellin, Colombia, days after Colombia’s national soccer team, one of the favorites that year, lost in an upset to the United States.

The state prosecutor’s office from the state of Mexico, which surrounds Mexico City on three sides, confirmed that a body believed to be Gallón was found Wednesday in Huixquilucan, outside the capital. It was undergoing forensic examination to confirm the identity.

Escobar was shot several times outside a disco in Medellin on July 2, 1994, by Humberto Muñoz Castro, Gallón’s driver, after being harangued about the own goal.

Muñoz Castro, who had connections to a powerful Colombian cartel, was arrested and confessed to the killing. He refused to implicate his bosses. Found guilty, Munoz was initially handed a 43-year jail term. He served only 11 years.

Satellite images begin to show damage wrought by Iran war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Satellite images are beginning to be released giving a glimpse into the toll of the Iran war, with ships ablaze in an Iranian port and destroyed buildings at American bases in the region. Information has so far been scarce about the damage being done across the Middle East, particularly when it’s inside closed military facilities, since the war started on Feb. 28. The images come from Planet Labs PBC, a San Francisco-based firm used by media outlets, including The Associated Press. Planet Labs has put a two-week delay on its imagery becoming public, citing concerns its imagery could be used by “adversarial actors.” High-resolution images also have been published by competing firms. Other providers, like the U.S. Geological Survey, have been publishing lower-resolution imagery as well that’s been useful.
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