By Ingrid Bachmann
Leiderman Ortiz, editor of the newspaper La Verdad de Pueblo, was unharmed but is fearful for his life after the grenade damaged the front of his home in Caucasia, Antioquia, El Tiempo and El Mundo report.
Ortiz, 36, has frequently denounced the violence that prevails in the city due to conflicts between organized crime groups who are working with drug traffickers, a separate story in El Tiempo adds. He believes that the attack on Thursday could be a retaliation for his accusations.
Ortiz organized two marches for peace in 2009 that mobilized 9,000 people, and he has been the target of three attempted hits on his life, El Tiempo says. He has had access to a police escort since last year, but his request to enter a journalists protection program run by the Interior Ministry was denied last June, the newspaper adds.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
