Four journalists held during indigenous protest released
New York, May 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of four Colombian journalists who were detained on May 17 while covering indigenous protests against a free trade pact with the United States in Cauca province. Two days after the arrest, police released Richard Calpa, director of the radio station La Libertad in…
Four journalists arrested while covering protests
New York, May 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities today to release four journalists who were arrested yesterday in the southwestern province of Cauca while covering protests by indigenous Colombians against a free trade pact with the United States. Farmers and indigenous organizations have been demonstrating since Tuesday in the town of…
Colombian journalist flees home after threats
New York, May 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that Colombian journalist Pedro Antonio Cárdenas Cáceres was forced to flee his hometown after getting death threats in the wake of his reports on government corruption in central Tolima province. Cárdenas, director of the biweekly La Verdad in the city of Honda, left for…
TV reporter killed covering mudslides
New York, April 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death of television reporter Jairo Muñoz who was covering mudslides that killed nearly 30 people last week on Colombia’s southwest Pacific coast. Muñoz and cameraman Rodrigo Trejos were among many journalists reporting on rescue efforts on April 13 in the hard-hit town of Santa…
Video’s accusation raises alarm in Colombia
New York, April 4, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that a little-known group is seeking to link Colombian journalist Hollman Morris to a leftist guerrilla group. The claim, which Morris dismissed, is contained in a recently circulated video and could endanger the reporter’s life. Two weeks ago, Morris told CPJ, he received a…
Colombian radio host dies of injuries from shooting
New York, March 21, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalist mourns the death of Colombian radio commentator Gustavo Rojas Gabalo, who died Monday of injuries he suffered in a February 4 shooting outside a local supermarket in the northwestern city of Montería, Córdoba province. Rojas, known as “El Gaba,” died in the Salucoop Clinic in Medellín,…
In meeting with CPJ, Colombian president pledges support for provincial journalists
Bogotá, Colombia, March 15, 2006–Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Vélez today expressed support for the work of provincial journalists who report under threat of violence and said that any official who impedes their work “is committing a crime against democracy.” Uribe issued the statement at the urging of a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists,…