By Ingrid Bachmann
Peasants allegedly armed with assault rifles shot at a photographer for La Prensa newspaper while he was reporting on the military’s efforts to disarm farmers in the Atlantic coast region of Bajo Aguán, Proceso Digital reports.
The region has been the scene of tense conflicts between farmers, business people, and the government. Two weeks ago, five peasants were killed by security staff at a farm that the guards and police say the attackers were trying to take by force, EFE and Rights Action explain. The farmers claim that the land was illegally appropriated by a businessman.
According to El Heraldo, peasant groups have denounced a “sinister plan of destabilization, persecution, intimidation, and annihilation” and deny the military's claim that they are seriously armed.
La Prensa reports that its photographer was threatened and that the images confirm the presence of groups with prohibited weapons in the region. The vice-minister of Security condemned the attack and called it “a clear attack on freedom of expression,” Proceso Digital explains.
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.
