Colombia / Americas

  
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks at a ceremony marking the ninth anniversary of the signing of a peace deal between the state and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Colombian rebel group threatens investigative journalists as ‘armed actors’

Bogotá, December 1, 2025—Colombian authorities should thoroughly investigate threats made by a rebel group against the investigative unit of news outlet Caracol Noticias and ensure that its reporters can safely do their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. In a November 27 video reviewed by CPJ, negotiators with the General Staff of Blocks and Front,…

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Local outlets that a device, believed to be a grenade, exploded at the entrance of RCN media’s headquarters in the western city of Cali on Sunday evening. (Screenshot: Noticias RCN/YouTube)

Bomb attack damages independent media outlet’s headquarters in Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia —The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Colombian authorities to take comprehensive steps to ensure the safety of RCN media employees after a reported bomb attack on the outlet’s headquarters in the western city of Cali, and bring those responsible to account. Authorities told local outlets that a device, believed to be a grenade, exploded at…

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Colombian journalist, wife wounded in targeted shooting

Bogotá, July 7, 2025—Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the shooting of journalist Gustavo Chicangana and his wife, Ana Milena Torres, to determine whether the reporter was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Saturday, July 5, Chicangana, news director of radio station Guaviare Estéreo, and Torres…

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Colombian police stand guard outside the Palace of Justice following suspicions of a plan to attack the headquarters of the Supreme Court of Justice, according to authorities, in Bogota, Colombia August 16, 2024. (Reuters/Nathalia Angarita)

Colombian journalist Óscar Gómez Agudelo shot dead at radio station

Bogotá, January 30, 2025—Colombian authorities must swiftly complete their investigation into the killing of journalist Óscar Gómez Agudelo, who was fatally shot as he entered his office on Friday, January 24, at the community radio station Rumba del Café in the western Colombian city of Armenia, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.   “The special prosecutor appointed to investigate the killing…

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CPJ, 24 other organizations release report on state censorship in the Americas

Twenty-four civil society organizations working in seven Latin American countries, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, released a November 2024 report titled “Impact of state censorship measures on the right to freedom of expression in the Americas,” which included information provided during the 190th regular session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in July 2024.  The press freedom groups work in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador,…

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A man sitting before a colorful mural.

Colombian journalist flees after death threat after report on extortion claims

Bogotá, May 21, 2024—Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the death threat received by journalist Edward Álvarez, ensure his safety, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Álvarez, a reporter for the independent online news outlet La Chiva de Urabá in the northern city of Apartadó, received a death threat…

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Colombian journalist Mardonio Mejía Mendoza shot dead at home 

Bogotá, January 29, 2024 — Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Mardonio Mejía Mendoza, determine if he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Wednesday, January 24, a gunman shot and killed Mejía, founder and director of the independent Sonora Estero…

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Former state security agent convicted in torture of Colombian journalist Claudia Julieta Duque

New York, November 28, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly supports a Bogotá superior district court’s November decision to convict a former Colombian state security agent of aggravated torture against journalist Claudia Julieta Duque. “We welcome this overdue conviction as a necessary victory against impunity in crimes against journalists in Colombia,” said Carlos Martínez de…

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Estefanía Colmenares, editor of Colombia's La Opinión newspaper, speaks into a microphone

Colombian editor Estefanía Colmenares receives death threats after political exposé

Bogotá, September 11, 2023—Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate a death threat against journalist Estefanía Colmenares, ensure her safety, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On September 6, Colmenares, editor of the independent La Opinión newspaper in the northern city of Cúcuta, received a threat from an unidentified number…

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Colombian journalist Luis Gabriel Pereira shot and killed in town of Ciénaga de Oro

Bogotá, May 12, 2023—Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Luis Gabriel Pereira, determine if he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Tuesday, May 9, two gunmen aboard a motorcycle fatally shot Pereira while he was riding his motorcycle in…

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