"Colombian authorities must swiftly investigate threats made by an illegal armed group against regional journalists, bring those responsible to justice, and guarantee the safety of the reporters, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday [Aug. 4].
On July 31, four journalists in the northern city of Apartadó were threatened by members of the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, alias Gulf Clan, the country’s largest illegal drug-trafficking organization. The threats against the journalists came following their reports on allegations of misconduct by the head of Apartadó’s transportation department, Óscar Angulo, according to the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP).
Journalist Cristian Salas of the independent news site Noticias El Boom, and Yeison Rojas of the TV news program TeleAntioquia Noticias and Darien TV have publicly come forward about receiving the threats. Rojas told CPJ that the two other threatened journalists, who report for the news site Voces de Urabá on Facebook, did not want their names published."
