Second Emerald Dealer Shot Dead by Sniper
April 15, 25
(IDEX Online) - A Colombian emerald dealer has been shot dead at his home in the country's capital Bogota by a sniper.
The death of Jesus Hernando Sanchez, aged 62, comes just eight months after his business partner Juan Sebastian Aguilar (also known as Pedro Pechuga), aged 58, was shot by a sniper in the same exclusive residential area.
Both men had survived previous assassination attempts - in one case Sanchez lost an eye and a kidney, and spent two months in a coma.
And both men were shot in the chest by a single bullet while surrounded by family and bodyguards.
Colombia is, by far, the world's largest source of emeralds.
Sanchez and Aguilar were shareholders and board members of Esmeraldas Santa Rosa, which manages emerald deposits in the Boyaca municipality of Maripi.
The murder of Sanchez underscores the ongoing instability and violence that continue to plague Colombia's emerald industry, where alliances and rivalries often blur legal and illegal activities.
Pic shows Esmeraldas Santa Rosa.