Andres Mompotes, daily El Tiempo's publisher spoke during the ceremony representing the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).
Miami (July 28, 2025) — The Colombian State publicly acknowledged its international responsibility in the case of journalists Julio Daniel Chaparro Hurtado and Jorge Enrique Torres Navas, who were murdered on April 24, 1991. The acknowledgment took place during a ceremony held on Friday in Bogotá, which brought together family members, authorities, and press freedom organizations.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA), which represented the families before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), accompanied the process for more than a decade and welcomed the development as a meaningful step toward justice. Andrés Mompotes, IAPA’s regional vice president for Colombia and editor-in-chief of El Tiempo, delivered a speech that gave voice to the pain, memory, and hope of a press community deeply wounded—but not defeated.
“We gather to bear witness to an important step in the pursuit of justice: the acknowledgment by the Colombian State of its international responsibility for a crime that should never have happened, and whose impunity has lasted more than three decades,” said Mompotes.
“Julio Daniel and Jorge Enrique embodied courageous journalism—journalism that dares to go where others won’t, that seeks to understand the roots of conflict and report it with sensitivity and rigor. They died doing their duty, and their deaths were a devastating blow to Colombian journalism.”
For years, the case was marked by institutional inaction, contradictory versions, and neglect. It was not until 2021 that the IACHR admitted the petition submitted by the families and the IAPA, paving the way for a friendly settlement agreement signed this month by the victims, the State, IAPA, and the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP).
The event — available at this link — was also a space for memory, to honor and reaffirm the journalistic legacy of Chaparro and Torres. Janet Alexandra Torres Mora, daughter of the slain photojournalist, recalled her father’s sensitivity and talent:
“Jorge Enrique Torres Navas was a journalist by profession, but a photojournalist at heart. He never needed a word to convey his art, his sensitivity. Millions of captures, single shots and bursts—those that should indeed exist. And photographs that were part of his work and daily life. It’s incredible how he managed to stop time in every photo, how he could capture a moment and leave that feeling in his work.”
Daniel Chaparro Díaz, son of the slain writer, criticized how their journalistic work was erased from the judicial process:
“Nobody ever cared what kind of journalism those two reporters were doing. They’re still not interested, still not seeing it—and we can’t keep waiting for them to care. Solving the murders of journalists requires movement, coordination, and an awakening we are not yet having, even as journalists are still being killed across the region,” he stated.
Minister of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge Yannai Kadamani Fonrodon formally delivered the State’s acknowledgment:
“We recognize that for decades this crime remained in impunity, denying justice to their families, their press colleagues, and Colombian society at large. This agreement is an act of responsibility and political will to recognize the harm caused and decisively move forward with reparations.”
The minister also announced a series of reparative measures, including monitoring criminal investigations, establishing compensation mechanisms, creating the Julio Daniel Chaparro and Jorge Torres Navas Regional Honorary Award for narrative and photography, and a commemorative mural in Bogotá.
Mompotes highlighted the essential role of the IACHR and organizations that kept the case alive:
“The Inter-American Commission has been key to this process. Thanks to its support, the families found a channel to be heard, to demand answers, and to bring visibility to an emblematic case of violence against the press.”
He also emphasized that murdering a journalist affects not only the victim and their family:
“When a journalist is killed for telling the truth, it is not just one voice that is silenced. An entire society is deprived of a critical perspective, of a story that needed to be told. And when that crime goes unpunished, it sends a terrible message—that the truth can be silenced without consequence. That message fuels new attacks, weakens institutions, and emboldens enemies of freedom.”
Sofía Jaramillo, FLIP’s executive director, reminded the audience that this fight is not only about justice but about safeguarding memory:
“The absence of Julio Daniel and Jorge is not just a loss for their loved ones. It’s a loss for the country. It’s a truth that didn’t arrive on time. And yet that truth still seeks its place.”
“Impunity is not destiny. It is a choice. And fighting it requires political will, institutional commitment, and social pressure,” Mompotes concluded. “Let the legacy of these journalists inspire those who continue the craft. Let their memory remind us that informing is a form of service. And let justice—though delayed—come, as it must.”
The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.