Colombian botanist. Betancur was born in San Antonio de Prado, Medellín and studied biology at the University of Antioquia in the same city, creating a Contribution to Bromeliaceae of Antioquia. While here he became involved with the Flora de Antioquia, a large project involving this University, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the New York Botanic Garden, giving him the opportunity to work and learn from a range of influencial botanists at these three institutions. His postgraduate studies took place in the National University of Colombia (Bogotá), his doctoral thesis was 'Systematics of Sodiria group (Guzmania)'. Between 1986 and 1991 he worked as a research assistant at the University of Antioquia before moving again to Bogotá to become a professor and researcher at the National University.

Betancur has been interested in plants from childhood, initially their cultivation and later in understanding their classification and ecology. He has always focused on the taxonomy and systematics of the bromeliads due to the richness of species found in the Andes; but has also worked on various other groups including the Cecropiaceae and Heliconiaceae, and has been involved with the study of Iridaceae, Xyridaceae and Costaceae for the Flora de Colombia. He has worked in the field studying the structure and composition of certain Colombia forests, especially Amazonian and Andean. He is involved in preparing lists of species for floras of various scales, from regional to national, and in creating illustrated field guides for these species. Betancur is interested in epiphyte ecology, especially their vertical composition and distribution in tropical forests. He is also particularly interested in the relationships between plants and animals; both fitotelmatic plants and the bodies of water within them that support invertebrate life, and the dietary composition of vertebrates, especially primates and capybaras. Betancur is involved with a number of institutions throughout the Americas, amongst them the Asociación Colombiana de Botánica, Asociación Latinoaméricana de Botánica, The Marie Selby Botanical Garden; Sarasota (Florida), the Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis, (Bogotá) and the Smithsonian Institution. He has published extensively and has several species named after him.