“Although last February, the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice [of Colombia] had freed journalist Vicky Dávila, as well as TV network RCN, from having to pay compensation in favor of retired colonel Jorge Hilario Estupiñán, now the Civil Chamber of the high court reversed that decision and left the reparation order intact when it found that the journalist, with her opinions, affected the official's good name. The incident dates back to 2014 when Dávila presented complaints and audio recordings on her La FM program that linked Estupiñán, then the Casanare Police Commander, to acts of corruption.
The journalist interviewed the inspector general of the police, from whom she asked for explanations and asked about the possible suspension of the former commander. Colonel Estupiñán was removed from service after the scandal, but was later found criminally and disciplinary innocent. For this reason, the official initiated a civil proceeding, and on Oct. 15, 2020, the Civil Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogotá sentenced Dávila and the RCN network to pay $165 million [Colombian pesos, about US $47,000] for concept of moral damages and to rectify the information delivered to the public on May 6 and 14, 2014."
