The murder of a journalist, an increase in attacks against the press by public officials, and threats against members of the media were the most problematic events during this period.
On April 14 Jaime Vásquez was murdered in Cúcuta. He was known for investigating and reporting through social networks. He used to make live transmissions and denounced them based on documents of contracts or tenders that he exhibited. The suspected perpetrator was captured and is being held in La Picota prison in Bogotá.
In addition to the attacks on journalists in Cúcuta, there were threats to journalists by former FARC dissidents and other armed groups in Arauca, Huila, Caquetá, Nariño, and Putumayo. Journalists usually receive pamphlets with the obligation to publish them, are summoned to go to their camps to record them, and then broadcast the material under duress. In this context, on April 24, journalist Juan Alejandro Loaiza of the radio station La Despensa was kidnapped for a whole day in Huila. According to the documentation, this event resulted from his refusal to publish information about an illegal armed group. Another serious incident was what happened with the digital media outlet Vorágine, which announced the suspension of its publications on paramilitarism and drug trafficking due to death threats against journalist Nicolás Sánchez.
Officials and President Gustavo Petro attacked the media and journalists in retaliation for criticism of the government's management.
The critical press is stigmatized with labels such as "extreme right" and "Mossad journalism." They are accused of silencing the President, manipulating his speech, committing "villanies and villainies," being part of a coup d'état, lying, misinforming, and "homogenizing minds" based on large capitals, and encouraging massacres and assassinations.
During the inauguration of Iris Marín as Ombudsman, President Petro referred to journalists as "dolls of the mafia." The Ombudsman rejected the expression: "There is no room for stigmatization or offenses against journalists. Nothing justifies them".
Due to the persistent rhetoric from the government against journalists, 33 media outlets in the country simultaneously published a statement from the Association of Information Media (AMI) to condemn the climate of aggression against the freedoms of the press and expression. They also invited Colombians to demand respect for these rights, to reject stigmatization, and to freely choose the consumption of information and journalism of their choice, without bias or pressure, following criteria of interest and intellectual curiosity to form their own opinions and make informed decisions.
This panorama parallels the unconditional support of an alternative media sector with whom coordinated agendas are established. According to the government, these media "are the only ones that transmit the truth." The government encourages them with official advertising, recently announcing the so-called "law of thirds" to allocate one-third of official advertising to related media.
The Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP) denounced the existence of censorship, self-censorship, and redirection of topics in the public media system (RTVC), where the tendency to omit inconveniences to the government prevails.
On the positive side, the enactment of the law creating the "No es Hora de Callar" fund to prevent and protect women journalists who are victims of gender violence, in compliance with the order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Jineth Bedoya, stands out.
Another relevant aspect of the Presidency was issuing the "Duties of public officials in the exercise of freedom of expression and respect for freedom of the press."
However, in the official act and with the presence of the Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IACHR, Pedro Vaca, Petro stigmatized journalists: "The king is the economic power, the owners of the great media of the world belong to the economic power."
On August 20, in a meeting between FLIP, Reporters without Borders, and President Petro, more effectiveness was requested to fight impunity, considering that five journalists have been murdered since the current President took office in August 2022, two of them under State protection.
In Congress, initiatives that threaten freedom of the press continue to be presented. A bill on artificial intelligence alludes to the guarantee of freedom of expression. It warns that there will be no censorship to manifest ideas or beliefs unless other principles are violated, which justifies it.
Thirteen journalists were assaulted during the April 21 marches in four cities. Reporters from RTVC, El Tiempo, Cofradía para el Cambio, Tras Este Visor, El Tamal News, and Juan Maza BQ were affected.
