Aristizbal was shot to death in Cali after leaving the Santiago de Cali University. Local journalists report that he was followed by two men riding a Yamaha motorcycle. They shot him nine times when he stopped for a traffic light and then fled the scene. Aristizábal worked as a political reporter for radio station Todelar in Cali until 1994, when he joined the faculty of Santiago de Cali University as a professor of journalism. In 1996, he took a position as chief press officer for the Cali Fair, a bullfighting tournament. At the end of 1997, he helped the National Police in Cali set up a radio news station.