Julio Cesar Turbay

Julio César Turbay became President of Colombia in 1978. His administration was marked by a hardline security policy against guerrilla groups and drug traffickers, including the controversial Security Statute.

Turbay enacted the Security Statute, a set of emergency decrees that expanded military powers to arrest, detain, and try civilians in military courts. The statute was criticized for human rights abuses and led to numerous arbitrary detentions.

Turbay intensified efforts against drug trafficking, including extradition of traffickers to the United States. His administration signed a bilateral extradition treaty with the US in 1979, escalating the war on drugs.

The M-19 guerrilla group seized the Dominican Embassy in Bogot