Daniel Coronell

In 2005, a series of chilling death threats compelled award-winning Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell to leave Bogotá with his family for what ended up being a two-year stay in California. Today, more than three years after his return from exile, Coronell and his family are moving back to the States, this time by choice. CPJ spoke to him last week about how his return U.S. to take on a high-level position at a major TV network compares to his exile in 2005, and the press freedom conditions he's leaving behind in Colombia. 

By Carlos Lauría

The topic being investigated by two Colombian reporters was explosive enough that it required unusual security. Fearful that the subjects would learn prematurely of the story, the reporters took separate notes, which they did not share and which they later destroyed. They didn’t communicate by telephone or e-mail, and they met only in public locations. They relayed only the barest information to their own sources.

June 2009

News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

Daniel
Coronell's name didn't come up in a hearing this week on Capitol Hill, even
though CPJ had just learned that a Colombian court had ordered the arrest of the
respected Canal Uno TV reporter and Semana magazine columnist over his work.
Coronell is one of many journalists and human rights monitors
who've lately been forced to defend themselves against irregular, if not bogus, criminal charges brought in Colombian courts. The hearing held by
the Tom
Lantos Human Rights Commission of the House Foreign Affairs Committee did,
however, hear important testimony from one of Coronell's colleagues.

New York, March 25, 2009--A court in Colombia has issued an arrest warrant for prominent journalist Daniel Coronell for contempt of court after he failed to correct for a second time a story linking a local businessman to drug trafficking, the Committee to Protect Journalists learned today. CPJ calls on the judge to withdraw the contempt ruling until an appeal is heard. 

New York, February 25, 2009--The illegal wiretapping of prominent Colombian journalists endangers their work and compromises their confidential sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Deadly violence in Colombia eased for the second consecutive year as no journalists were killed in direct relation to their work. Colombian authorities cited increased security throughout the country as the cause for the recent decline in news media deaths, but journalists said widespread self-censorship had made the press less of a target. Even so, intimidation and threats remained a serious problem. Repeated death threats against four provincial journalists forced them to flee their homes. Prominent journalists in the capital denounced government harassment that followed their criticism of the administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez.

New York, August 22, 2008--Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez called for a criminal investigation of Daniel Coronell on Thursday, alleging that the journalist broke the law by not immediately disclosing a videotaped interview that allegedly links the administration to a bribery scandal. The Committee to Protect Journalists urged Colombian authorities today to dismiss Uribe's request.

We issued the following statement today in response to Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez' request for a criminal investigation of Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell for allegedly committing a crime by failing to disclose accusations in a videotaped interview that a former lawmaker was bribed in exchange for her vote to approve Uribe's reelection.

"We reject President Uribe's request to investigate Daniel Coronell," said CPJ's Americas Senior Program Coordinator, Carlos Lauría. "We believe the motivation behind Uribe's decision is linked to Coronell's criticism of the Colombian government. We call on the Attorney General to dismiss Uribe's request."