ARCHIVES: Colombia
Ignacio Gómez , the co-producer of the "Noticias Uno" news programme on state-owned TV station Canal Uno, believes that Colombia’s leading intelligence agency, the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), was responsible for the May 24 break-in at his Bogotá apartment, the seventh in the past decade. The break-in, which took place while Gómez was out, was executed by two men and a woman with sophisticated apparatus. They were in the process of forcing the front door but fled when they... MORE
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has backed the appeal of its affiliate in Colombia, the Federación Colombiana de Periodistas (FECOLPER) for a silent march throughout the country on World Press Freedom Day to denounce continuing threats against journalists and to call on the government to provide them with protection. The appeal followed recent threats made against FECOLPER President Eduardo Márquez, and other journalists who were targeted by the Black Eagles, an armed... MORE
A 20-year statute of limitations will apply from this weekend to any criminal prosecution for the 1991 murders of El Espectador reporters Julio Daniel Chaparro and Jorge Enrique Torres , yet again highlighting the problem of impunity in Colombia. Chaparro and Torres were murdered on April 24, 1991 while investigating the impact of a 1988 paramilitary massacre in Segovia, in the northwestern department of Antioquia. Although 20 years have gone by, the investigation being conducted by the Human... MORE
Peasant, trade union and indigenous groups and affiliated news media are designated as “permanent military targets” in three leaflets apparently issued by paramilitary groups – the Black Eagles, “Rastrojos” and United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) – that have been circulating in the southwestern city of Popayán and the surrounding Cauca region since late February. The latest leaflet, dated late March and signed by the AUC’s central column, names 11 journalists. The targets also include... MORE
The Aguilas Negras (Black Eagles) paramilitary group has been threatening journalists, civil society figures and NGOs, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). Dated March 14 and sent from a Gmail account in the name of “fenixaguilasnegras,” a message obtained by RSF promises the “extermination” and “purge” of a wide range of organisations, including women’s groups, peasant and Afro-Colombian associations and human rights NGOs, many of whose representatives... MORE
Five journalists and the representatives of several NGOs including the Federation of Colombian Journalists (Fecolper) have been directly threatened in a particularly disturbing email that began circulating Thursday. Sent from the Gmail account of “Aguilas Fénix,” it is signed by the central division of the “Aguilas Negras” (Black Eagles), a feared paramilitary group responsible for terror campaigns against the media in the past, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF)... MORE
Some 40 people – including Radio Nizkor journalist Claudia Julieta Duque – on November 30 filed complaints against former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe linked to his alleged responsibility in the “Dasgate” illegal phone-tapping, threats and sabotage laid at the door of the intelligence services. Uribe is due to appear before a special congressional committee which will allow him to escape more serious legal consequences. This scandal that engulfed the Administration Department of Security (... MORE
The investigation into illegal telephone-tapping by the Colombian intelligence agency known as the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) entered a new phase Wednesday when the House of Representatives initiated a procedure that could result in former President Alvaro Uribe being questioned about his presumed involvement, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). Uribe originally denied any role in the misuse of the intelligence services to combat... MORE
A car bomb exploded early Thursday morning outside the building of national Caracol Radio in the capital city of Bogotá, causing serious damage and injuring at least nine people, local new reports said. President Juan Manuel Santos, who took office on Saturday, described the explosion as "a terrorist act," and said it was intended to create a climate of fear. Attorney-General Guillermo Mendoza said the attack was aimed at the radio station, during an interview with Caracol. "It is an act of... MORE
Journalists employed by two radio stations in Yopal, the capital of the northeastern department of Casanare, stopped work today Thursday and demonstrated silently, with their mouths gagged, in the city's main square to protest against a lawsuit targeting eight of their colleagues and to demand respect for freedom of information. Eight journalists who work for Violeta Stéreo or La Voz de Yopal are being sued by Casanare governor Raúl Flórez, who insists that they made false and defamatory... MORE
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