Bogota/Madrid - Gunmen have killed the brother of a Colombian drug trafficker who was shot dead at a Spanish hospital a few days earlier, Colombian and Spanish media reported Wednesday.

Fabio Vargas, 46, was brother to Leonidas Vargas, 59, once a powerful cocaine lord known as the King of Caqueta.

The body of Fabio Vargas was found on a roadside in a rural area in Valle del Cauca department, Colombian authorities said.

Vargas, who carried a fake identity document had been shot numerous times, as was his young actress girlfriend.

The murders were carried out on Saturday, but the bodies were only identified on Tuesday.

Fabio Vargas did not have a criminal record, but he was suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, the Spanish daily El Mundo reported.

The killing was believed to be part of a settlement of accounts between drug traffickers which led to the murder of Leonidas Vargas at Madrid's Doce de Octubre hospital, where he was being treated for lung and heart problems, on Thursday.

A suspected hired assassin entered Vargas' hospital room, shot him four times with a gun equipped with a silencer, and fled.

Leonidas Vargas' daughter had also been tortured and killed in 1990.

In the 1980s and 90s, Vargas is believed to have run extensive drug laboratories in the southern region of Caqueta. In 1995, he was sentenced to 44 years in prison, but was released after eight years.

Leonidas Vargas was detained in Madrid in 2006 in connection with the seizure of 500 kilograms of cocaine. (dpa)