texas-moody

Colombia

Colombian journalist seeking asylum in the US detained by ICE

“Estefany Rodríguez Florez, a journalist with Nashville Noticias who has produced critical reporting on [the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency] ICE, was arrested Wednesday [March 4] during a traffic stop, according to documents filed in federal court in Nashville. Her attorney requested her immediate release, but the federal agency asked a judge to deny […]

Colombian TV journalist says he was threatened by armed group in Urabá region

“The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) reported that journalist Yeison Rojas, a correspondent for Teleantioquia in the Urabá subregion, was threatened by alleged members of the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), who ordered him to leave the territory with his family before midnight on March 2. According to the organization, Rojas received a phone […]

Ex-mayor in eastern Colombia hits newspaper editor after report scrutinized his record

“Widespread condemnation has erupted in Yopal [capital of Colombia’s Casanare department], after former mayor Jhon Jairo Torres, known as ‘Jhon Calzones,’ harassed and assaulted El Nuevo Oriente newspaper director Martín Mesa while the journalist was at a restaurant in the city. According to the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP, by its acronym in […]

Employees delivering newspapers in Cauca, Colombia, are threatened, have copies taken

"On Feb. 18, members of the newspaper Proclama del Pacífico were intercepted, threatened and forced to suspend distribution of their paper in northern Cauca. The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP, for its Spanish initials) condemns and denounces this act, which constitutes a violent act of censorship that restricts the public's right to receive information and […]

Colombian journalist attacked during political event

"Several members of the Indigenous Guard surrounded and pushed journalist Carlos Ayala Orozco while he was recording a political event with his cell phone in the Plaza de Los Libertadores in Villacencio. During the scuffle, the journalist fell to the ground before other people intervened to separate them. The incident occurred during a rally organized […]

Journalists in Putumayo, Colombia, face 'imminent risk' due to threats from armed groups, organization says

"The Foundation for Press Freedom [FLIP, by its Spanish acronym] is alerting the public of a serious escalation of intimidation against Dubán García, director of the Al Día Noticias newscast, and Hamilton Obando, cameraman and producer for the same media outlet in Mocoa, [in the Colombian department of] Putumayo. In recent days, a plot to […]

Colombia's Supreme Court sentences prosecutor who released confessed torturer of journalist Jineth Bedoya

"The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice sentenced prosecutor Bibiana Rosa Orozco Bonilla to four years in prison for releasing and closing the case against paramilitary member Alejandro Cárdenas, alias 'JJ,' who confessed to kidnapping and torturing journalist Jineth Bedoya. The prosecutor had been acquitted in a previous instance, but the high court, […]

Guerrilla leaders convicted for abducting journalists in Colombia's Catatumbo

"A specialized criminal court judge sentenced members of the self-proclaimed Central Command (Coce, for its Spanish acronym) of the ELN (National Liberation Army) and two other leaders of that guerrilla group for the abductions of seven journalists and two media workers that occurred in the Catatumbo region, in Norte de Santander, between 2016 and 2017. […]

Legal harassment against journalists on the rise in Colombia, press group says

“The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) warns of an increase in judicial actions brought in recent days against journalists and media outlets in Colombia, a trend that reveals a pattern of legal harassment aimed at intimidating, censoring, and obstructing independent journalism. The most recent episodes of this type of harassment affect journalist Lorena Beltrán and […]

Potential release of accused killer in Colombia alarms press freedom group

The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) expressed its deep concern about how the Colombian Attorney General's Office is handling the case of Carlos Arturo Landázuri, alias “El Gringo,” accused of the killing of journalists Paul Rivas, Javier Ortega, and Efraín Segarra, of the Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio, in 2018. In a Dec. 6 statement, FLIP […]

Public prosecutor's office investigates Colombian governor for journalist's murder

"The Fifth Prosecutor's Office before the Supreme Court of Justice opened an investigation against the governor of Norte de Santander, William Villamizar, for his alleged participation in the murder of journalist Jaime Vásquez, from Cúcuta, in a pastry shop in the city. Last April, Vásquez was attacked around 8:30 a.m. in La Riviera (Cúcuta) while […]

President of Colombia authorizes criminal and civil lawsuits against two media outlets

“Through his X (Twitter) account, President Gustavo Petro announced that he has authorized Army General Juan Miguel Huertas and Director of Intelligence Wilmar Mejía to file criminal complaints against Noticias Caracol and El Tiempo. This comes in response to investigations presented by the two media outlets regarding alleged links between high-ranking Army officers and alias […]