This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 19 in 2024. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
He had just returned from a mass to bless his new house. Juan Sebastián Aguilar (known “Pedro Aguilar”), a Colombian “Esmeraldero”, had moved his family to a luxurious neighborhood in Bogotá after surviving two assassination attempts in 2023. But on August 7, 2024, a sniper hidden on a nearby mountain killed him by shooting him in the chest from a great distance.
Juan Sebastián Aguilar entered the emerald world in the 1980s as a loyal bodyguard to Víctor Carranza, the legendary “czar” who controlled the country’s emeralds for decades and was also a paramilitary figure. In 2000, he founded Seguridad Oriental Ltda, providing security for many mines in the region. Over time, he secured a position on the board of directors of Esmeraldas Santa Rosa, one of the largest companies in the sector in Colombia.
Gem news published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review #19 – Autumn 2024.
