By Marina Torres
Ten people in Colombia, including three journalists, have been threatened in a pamphlet allegedly signed by the paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, according to the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FLIP in Spanish), which condemned the death threats.
The pamphlet appeared Feb. 4 in Cartago, Valle del Cauca.
Luis Fernando Gil, of the television program Hora 13; Raul Parra of the publication La Hoja de Parra; and Hector Fabio Garcia, of the radio station Cartago Estereo, were declared "military targets" because of their involvement with Cartago's human rights committee. The pamphlet put bounties on the journalists' heads and called for "collaborators" to “do their part,” IFEX reported.
This is not the first time these journalists have been targeted. Similar threats were reported in March, July, and October 2009, as well as in February 2010, according to IFEX and the International Press Institute. Those threats were reportedly from a group called "The Dirty Dozen," which may or may not be the same group that released the current pamphlet.
Gil, who is under the protection of the Ministry of Interior, told FLIP that many of these threats have gone unpunished and that they “always come after we meet with local officials, or when we cover news about trade union marches." He said he is concerned about the well-being of his family, adding that others are considering moving out of the city.
FLIP was unable to contact authorities about the threats but did confirm that the situation has been raised with Colonel Jadi Guillermo Lora, the special district commander of Cartago, who said he will investigate the matter further.
In recent years, the city of Cartago has faced an increasing amount of drug trafficking which has increased security concerns in the area. Two journalists in the past six years have been killed in Cartago. Colombia has experienced a reported 189 attacks against journalists in 2010, seven of which were homicides, according to the Colombian Federation of Journalists.
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.
