Prison Explosion Kills Assassin

A bomb exploded at a maximum-security prison housing leaders of the Cali drug cartel and other major criminals, killing a man convicted of murdering a presidential candidate.

The explosion happened late Saturday at La Picota prison, killing William Infante, who was serving a 25-year prison sentence for murdering communist party presidential candidate Jaime Pardo Leal in 1987.

His cellmate, Luis Eduardo Rodriguez, accused of participating in a botched attempt to kill President Ernesto Samper’s lawyer in 1995, was seriously wounded.

Police were not sure whether the explosion was deliberate or whether the two men were working with explosives in their cell when they blew up.

The explosion happened in the same wing that houses brothers Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, top leaders of the Cali cartel. They were unhurt.