In Lorica, the community in the Colombian Caribbean where Edwin Miguel Arrieta Arteaga (44 years old) grew up, the doctor who was murdered in Thailand in early August is still spoken of in the present tense without fully processing the crime. Arrieta grew up in the Cascajal neighborhood, a humble neighborhood just blocks from the main square in the city of 112,000, where the noise of vendors mixes with the smell of fish and the incessant traffic of motorcycles in the sweltering midday heat.
As a boy he lived with his parents – a radio and television restorer and a school teacher – who instilled in him Catholic values. She completed the last years of high school at the Normal Superior Santa Teresita, which was founded in Lorica by missionary nuns of this congregation. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had two dreams: to become a doctor and to see the world,” says Darling Arrieta, the surgeon’s older sister.
After a semester of convincing her mother that she wouldn’t drop out of a demanding course halfway through, Arrieta began her studies at the Metropolitan University of Barranquilla, a five-hour drive from her birthplace. The stubborn son did not refuse. At the turn of the century he graduated and went to Buenos Aires, Argentina to specialize as a plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgeon. Postgraduate studies at the University of Buenos Aires were cheaper than in Colombia. This is how he began to embark on a path of success in the lucrative business of cosmetic surgery that has made him one of the most recognized professionals in the Caribbean.
After living in Argentina for another year, he returned to Montería, the departmental capital. An hour away from Lorica, working there gave him more projection. He opened a practice for cosmetic surgery and worked in three clinics as a reconstructive surgeon, where he corrected the consequences of traffic accidents, burns or gun wounds. As his private practice grew, he left one of those jobs to serve countless patients who came from other cities across the country or around the world with a desire to look better. With a growing Chilean clientele, he began performing cosmetic surgeries during the second half of each month in early 2022, in the country where he earned his Argentinian degree.
Friends of Health Foundation, medical center where Edwin worked in Montería (Colombia). Diego Cuevas
Anesthetist Silvio Suárez, who accompanied him almost every day in the operating rooms of the Friends of Health Foundation, with which he was associated for almost a decade, remembers his dedication to the profession. “He was dedicated to his patients and was a perfectionist at what he did. “He was upbeat, spontaneous and funny,” he says.
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Already a well-known surgeon, Arrieta settled in the El Recreo area of Montería, the city’s most exclusive area. Full of luxurious houses, the neighbors were families with political or economic power. They didn’t know of any investments other than a vacation home in Coveñas, a nearby tourist community with quiet beaches on the Caribbean Sea. He was a polo player and had a daily alarm clock, so he interrupted every other activity to pray the Rosary of Divine Mercy at 3 p.m.
The 44-year-old Colombian doctor never left his family. He was the mainstay of the family, the engine they trusted in decisions big and small. He frequently traveled to Lorica. He brought a market to the humble home he grew up in and made the most of the family time. During his absence, he communicated several times a day. For this reason, his silence from Thailand on August 3 initially sparked concern that hours later turned to dismay at the crime of which he was the victim.
Nohemí Ballesteros, a neighbor and family friend, says Arrieta has remained attentive to her parents, who are elderly and have health problems. “Whenever he arrived, the first thing he did was look for them. Since dawn he said to his mother: “Mom, how did you wake up, here I am.” When she went to bed: “Mom, I’m going to bed now, you can lie down in peace.” There are children who do that not consider. “When someone gives everything to their family, so does everyone else, and that’s how Dr. Edwin,” says the woman who works at a hairdresser in Lorica.
Arrieta did his best for his friends. Those closest to him recall that when they looked for him, he “did not walk, but ran”; He liked celebrations and hosts. “He was very outgoing, very friendly,” says his sister. Traveling made him feel alive. He kept track of the countries he knew – he’d already been to Italy, Turkey, North Africa – and those he had yet to know. Before I left one destination, I thought about the next. “He was a dreamer who wanted to travel the world. He worked to travel,” assures one of his close friends. One of his dreams was to travel to Scandinavia and see the Arctic.
Darling, Edwin’s sister, holds a photo of her brother Diego Cuevas
Before his trip to Thailand, the first he had undertaken to that country according to his family, the surgeon said he would be meeting Spanish friends. He didn’t specifically mention Daniel Sancho, who his relatives in Colombia were unaware of. Suárez, the anesthetist, says Edwin has been reserved about his personal life and was pleased with the trip. “He wanted to experience new cultures, new ways of looking at life, and that’s what interested him,” he says.
What Arrieta had expressed was his plans to live in Spain because he “lived richly there, it was nice.” It’s been about five times in the last 10 months. He said that he is working on validating his documents and has plans to set up companies in Madrid,” adds Suárez.
First the investigation, then the repatriation
Edwin Arrieta’s relatives are awaiting the repatriation of the remains as long as evidence gathering in the Southeast Asian country is not disrupted. The family’s lawyer, Miguel González Sánchez, has said the trial must take place in Thailand without the confessed killer being extradited. “The event happened there, so we see no need for a transfer. Extradition would contradict the rights of the victims. “We believe Thailand is impartial territory and would give more guarantees,” he says. González said they are awaiting an official report of the money, allegedly $80,000, and the victim’s belongings found at the hotel where she was staying.
The people closest to him not only mourned the death of his friend, but also defended his good name. “Edwin is not here to defend himself. We all raise our voice for justice. We ask that this case not be forgotten, but that Colombia and the whole world continue to show solidarity,” affirms Viviana Ordosgoitia, one of her best friends. “We demand justice for my friend and that there be no abuse of fame or influence. Justice for Edwin and that the person responsible in Thailand pays a fine,” emphasizes another of them.
Streets of Lorica, the city where the doctor Diego Cuevas was born
The doctor’s family does not share the death penalty as a punishment, but calls for an exemplary punishment. “The only one who takes and gives life is God. No human has the right to take the life of another, no matter how much evil he has done. We want justice to be done, but we believe in divine justice,” concludes Darling Arrieta, dressed in mourning for her brother’s murder. He mourns with his parents in the Lorica house where the famous surgeon grew up.
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