A Colombian drugs baron was shot dead in his hospital bed in Madrid last night by a professional hitman.

Leonidas Vargas Vargas, head of the Caqueta cartel, was gunned down as he recovered from treatment for a heart problem.

The assassin, using a pistol fitted with a silencer, fired four shots before making his escape.

In a murder which had all the hallmarks of a professional hit, an accomplice waited at the door while Vargas was shot.

Another patient, who was sharing the same room, witnessed the shooting but was not harmed.

The patient’s wife later said: “My husband saw one of them. He was masked with a hat and a scarf.”

The shooting, which police believe was a settling of scores between rival Colombian drugs gangs, happened just after 8pm on last night.

Vargas, 59, whose underworld nickname was "El Viejo" (the Old Man), was being treated at the 12 October Hospital in Madrid while he awaited trial for drugs offences.

A Spanish judge released Vargas on conditional bail which meant he had no police guard in hospital.

He had been arrested in 2006 in Madrid and he was linked by Spanish prosecutors to the discovery of 500kg of cocaine hidden in a cargo of pineapples.

Vargas's cartel also had links to the powerful Medellin drugs organisation. He had been an associate of the late Pablo Escobar, the capo of the Colombian crime gangs. At the height of his influence, Vargas was known as The King of Caqueta and was said to control large cocaine laboratories in the Colombian jungle.

Before his arrest in Spain, Colombia had offered a $5million reward for Vargas' arrest as he was said to be among the country’s most important drugs dealers.

Prosecutors in Colombia claimed he also had links to the FARC Marxist guerrillas.

Vargas was jailed in Colombia in 1995 for 19 years and fined $1.5 million for drugs offences. He was imprisoned for another 25 years for murder and firearms offences.

While in prison he survived an assassination attempt when a bomb exploded in the maximum security wing of the jail where he was kept.

Vargas was also accused of ordering the murder of the Colombian presidential candidate Horacio Serpa.

He was released in 2002 but authorities seized assets to the value of $29.3 million and 135 properties.

Vargas had been admitted to hospital on January 2 with stomach problems.

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