Shortly after 7:00 p.m. the journalist was traveling in his mini-van when a hit man doing a U-turn approached his vehicle and shot him eight times in the chest with an automatic rifle. The hit man fled with another individual on a motorcycle.

1995:
In October 1995 Luis Carlos Molina Yepes of the Medellín Cartel was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in prison. He was sent to prison in 1997.

Also sentenced were María Ofelia Saldarriaga, Pablo Enrique Zamora and Carlos Martínez Hernández, to 16 years and 8 months in prison.

On July 30, 1996 the sentences of María Ofelia Saldarriaga, Pablo Enrique Zamora and Carlos Martínez were overturned.

Luis Molina Yepes was freed in September 2004 due to a reduction of sentence mechanism. He had served six years of his 16-year sentence.

Alvaro García Saldarriaga and Luis Eduardo Osorio, alleged to be the perpetrators, were themselves murdered before going on trial.

Pablo Escobar, head of the Medillín Cartel, was said to have ordered Cano’s murder. He died on December 2, 1993 in a clash with police.

Luis Molina Yepes remained on the run since being sentenced in October 1995 until February 1997.

On February 20, 1997 the IAPA submitted the case to the IACHR. Case No. 11,728.

Luis Molina Yepes was arrested in February 1997, three weeks after the IAPA met with officials to ask for an investigation.