Miami (May 7, 2026) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed its shock over the murder of Colombian journalist Mateo Pérez Rueda, director of the news outlet El Confidente in Yarumal, Antioquia, and urged authorities to deploy all necessary resources to clarify the crime, identify and punish those responsible, and ensure the case does not go unpunished.
Pérez Rueda, 25, and a Political Science student at the National University, was reported missing on May 5 in the Palmichal rural area of the municipality of Briceño, a region with the presence of illegal armed groups and clashes with security forces. The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) issued an alert on the case, and information about the killing was later confirmed by the Antioquia Governor’s Office.
The journalist was in the area to document the humanitarian crisis resulting from the armed conflict when he was intercepted by members of the 36th Front of FARC dissidents, according to press reports.
Testimonies from relatives indicate that Pérez Rueda was detained by armed men while identifying himself as a journalist, which did not prevent the attack. Mateo was “intercepted by armed men on a rural road in Briceño; they forced him off his motorcycle and told him to accompany them to a nearby location in the village where there were people, and some individuals witnessed how he was mistreated. He identified himself as a journalist several times, but they ignored him, and it appears they ended his life,” said his cousin Jorge Rueda, who added that the family hopes his body will be recovered.
As of this date, local authorities have not been able to locate the journalist due to the lack of security guarantees in the rural area. The governor of Antioquia announced a reward of up to 300 million Colombian pesos (between US$80,000 and US$84,000) for information leading to clarification of the case and the capture of those responsible.
“We regret the violence that leaves a deep scar on families and journalists, and we reiterate our concern about the deterioration of safety conditions for the practice of journalism in conflict zones in Colombia,” said Pierre Manigault, IAPA president and chairman of Evening Post Publishing Inc., based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States.
“This crime reflects the persistent vulnerability of journalists covering territories controlled by illegal armed actors and the urgent need to strengthen protection and justice measures. We call on the Colombian State to carry out a prompt, independent, and effective investigation that ensures this murder does not go unpunished and that safeguards the practice of journalism throughout the country,” said Martha Ramos, chair of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, and editorial director of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM).
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.