[1] Ospina's ideas and activities in the 1820s and 1830s indicated that he already conceived of technical education as an important instrument for economic development and general social improvement.

[2] In 1828, soon after graduating with a law degree, Ospina associated himself with a group of intellectuals, ideologists and politicians who did not agree with the ideas of General Simón Bolívar in proclaiming himself as Dictator of Colombia.

On the night of September 25, 1828, an elite group of militants and military officers assaulted the Palacio de San Carlos (government palace).

Ospina, fearing for his life, escaped from Bogotá and found refuge in Antioquia, the land of his teacher and mentor José Félix de Restrepo, the illustrious professor of Envigado.

In 1848, in association with José Eusebio Caro, and after months of deliberation, they wrote the ideological platform and fundamental program of the conservative party.

As a result of Ospina's careful investigations and studies, Colombia began producing some of the best coffees in the world, the Coffea arabica species.

His passion, knowledge, vision, tenacity and hard labor facilitated the development of coffee growing into Colombia's main export crop, transforming forever the nation's economy.

After Ospina and his brother Pastor escaped from prison into exile, in 1862, they planted coffee and operated a "Scientific and Industrial College" in Guatemala.

Thanks to their ability to insert into Guatemala's political and economic activities, their entrepreneurial spirit, their access to international credit, and their solid family alliances, they were able to distinguish themselves when coffee plantations were spreading out.

[17] In 1863, Ospina, former president of the Granadine Confederation (now Colombia), arrived in Guatemala with his wife Enriqueta Vásquez, his four younger children and his brother Pastor.

They settled in the Pacific piedmont region called "Costa Cuca", where they established their main coffee plantation "Las Mercedes".

[18] The history of the appearance of the Central American nations in the world economy is related to the development and exports of agricultural products, mainly of the coffee industry, during the second half of the 19th century.

During this period (1860–1930), the economic activity of trade and commerce between Western Europe, the United States and Latin America reached a new all time highs.