A wave of violence against journalists in Latin America has reached a new country: two reporters were killed in Colombia this week.
Organs that monitor journalism in the region count at least 25 deaths of media professionals in 2022. The Inter-American Press Association (SIP in Spanish) puts the number at 30, with most (18) cases registered in Mexico.
Haiti (3), Honduras (2), Ecuador (2), Brazil (1), Guatemala (1) and Chile (1) also committed crimes – making this year the deadliest for the Latino press.
Journalists shot after the incident
Journalists Dilia Contreras and Leiner Montero were killed early Sunday (28), as they returned from watching religious festivities in the countryside of Fundación, Magdalena.
They were in a car accompanied by their colleague Joaquín Alberto Gutiérrez Marín, and two men on motorcycles attacked three people, shooting at them. Marín is injured, but not life-threatening.
According to local media, Montero would have been involved in a fight during the party. However, the police still do not know whether the crime is related to this dispute and are investigating the reasons for the attack.
Montero was 36 years old and was the manager of Sol Digital Stereo radio, where Dilia also worked. He was publishing regional news on his Facebook page “Leiner Montero – Historias”.
Dilia, 39, was known for her duties on El Informador, Hoy Diario, Voces and Delegacia vehicles. A young girl leaves.
Also Read | Violence wave in Mexico: Four radio workers killed during live broadcast
The IAPA has called for an investigation into the killings, asking authorities not to dismiss the victims’ journalistic work as an alleged motivation.
The Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER) and the International Federation of Journalists (FIJ) condemned the crime.
The statement said, “In a country where the most attacks and murders against communicators are experienced in the region, the causes of death of our colleagues should be urgently clarified and those responsible should be brought to justice.”
We reject the appointment of journalists Leiner and Dilia working in the municipality of Fundación.
We urge the authorities to investigate without discarding hypotheses through journalistic work. @IFJGlobal @petrogustavo @FEPALC #infinityhttps://t.co/wkAlCrMSF3
— Fecolper (@FECOLPER) 28 August 2022
The latest Press Freedom Ranking by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranks Colombia 145 in an assessment covering 180 countries.
For the wealthy, the country remains one of the most dangerous for journalists in the Western Hemisphere.
“Dealing with issues such as the environment, armed conflict, corruption or collusion between politicians and illegal armed groups leads to systematic harassment, intimidation and violence.”
The organization stresses that as in other parts of Latin America, there has been an increasing number of attacks on journalists during demonstrations in the country as a result of ideological polarization.
“Confidence in the media continues to decline. The result is a denial of both the existence and work of journalists. [em protestos populares]”
Impunity for journalist deaths in Latin America
While Colombian authorities have yet to confirm whether the journalists’ deaths were work-related, their profiles are similar to other crimes in the region: reporters from small local vehicles unprotected by large corporations.
With high rates of impunity, the motivation for such crimes is not always confirmed by those responsible for the investigation.
In June, UNESCO reinforced its warning that press-related crimes remain unresolved.
The agency at the United Nations highlighted a 2021 study that found that 86% of cases between 2006 and 2020 remain unresolved.
In another poll, published on November 2, on the International Day for the Elimination of Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) made an even more gruesome cut: in the past decade, nearly eight out of ten murders of journalists around the world have gone without punishment.
Brazil is one of the members of the “club” of 12 countries, where attacks on the press are frequently repeated without the perpetrators being held accountable.
Also Read | UNESCO’s plan to protect journalists celebrates 10th anniversary with warning of impunity
For the Latin press, the scenario is more worrying in Mexico. At least 15 media workers were killed in the country in 2022.
Organizations that monitor the state of press freedom worldwide are adopting different ways to calculate the number of journalists killed or injured, including or not yet confirmed work-related deaths.
There have already been 18 deaths this year for the NGO Artigo 19 and the Inter-American Press Association. But the number by 18 or 15 August is more than double the 7 recorded for the whole of 2021.
In a country that is a democracy with an elected president, the problems pointed out by organizations are organized crime and local corruption, which are often condemned by regional or even individual media such as blogs or Facebook pages.
Also Read | Mexican president’s visit to the US increases international crackdown on journalist deaths
source: Noticias
