HomeMy WebLinkAboutBiographySIA Octavio Gonzalez
April 3, 1938 to December 13, 1976
Drug Enforcement Administration Country Attache Octavio Gonzalez, who was in charge of
DEA's Office in Bogota, Colombia, was shot and killed in the office on December 13, 1976,
by an informant. He was 38 years of age at the time of his death. Special Agent Gonzalez,
assigned to the Bogota Office since March 1972, had been a Special Agent since January
1969 when he joined the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. He was the first Cuban -
American to head a DEA office.
Previously, he had been a Police Officer in both Miami, Florida, and Kansas City,
Missouri. A five-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Special Agent Gonzalez graduated from
Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton in 1968. A Miami Herald editorial described him
as "a highly competent law enforcement officer with a worldwide reputation."
DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy awarded the Purple Heart to Special Agent Gonzalez
posthumously in a presentation to his family on May 13, 2004. Special Agent Gonzalez was
survived by his wife, Mariella, a son, Dennis, and three daughters, Mariella, Sandra and
Catherine.
Revised: March 17, 2006