By Ingrid Bachmann
After two days in jail in Venezuela, two Colombian journalists from the television station RCN and two more from a regional station were deported, accused of illegally entering Venezuela, reported the Latin American Herald Tribune and El Tiempo.
The team of journalists was trying to prove that in the area of El Nula — roughly 12 miles from the border — a guerrilla leader from Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) was hiding, explained El Universal. However, after recording a few images, the journalists were captured by Venezuelan guards who said the journalists didn't have passports, according to El Observador.
Philip Moreno, one of the deported journalists, said the material recorded was confiscated by authorities.
The incident occurred during a time of increased diplomatic conflict between the two countries, as the Colombian government has tried to find proof that important guerrilla leaders are hiding in Venezuela, explained the Associated Press and EFE.
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.
