Bogotá, May 8, 2026—Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Mateo Pérez Rueda, determine if he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
Pérez was last seen at around 4 p.m. on May 5 near the town of Briceño in Antioquia department in northwest Colombia where he was detained at a roadblock by members of a guerrilla group that controls much of the zone, Natalia López of the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) told CPJ. In a statement late Friday, FLIP said that a humanitarian commission had managed to enter rebel-controlled territory near Briceño and to recover Pérez’s body.
“Colombian authorities must promptly investigate the death of Mateo Pérez Rueda and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ Latin America program coordinator, in São Paulo. “The state has a responsibility to guarantee secure conditions nationwide, enabling journalists to carry out their work freely and without fear of retaliation.”
Pérez, 25, was the editor of the online news site El Confidente in the nearby town of Yarumal, and had traveled to Briceño to cover combat between the Colombian army and the 36th Front, which is a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that re-armed following a 2016 peace treaty that demobilized most FARC fighters.
Briceño security secretary William Londoño told Bogotá-based Caracol Noticias that he had advised Pérez not to travel to the town because the area is so dangerous but that the journalist ignored his warning. Pérez was listed as missing since Tuesday, in part, because the rebels had refused to allow humanitarian groups to enter the zone to search for him.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced rewards totaling $940 million pesos ($252,000 USD) for the capture of Neider Yesid Uñates López and John Edison Chala Torrejano, two rebel leaders of the 35th Front.
The killing of Pérez is the latest sign that regional journalism in Colombia is under severe pressure as criminal organizations expand in size and territorial control. In its statement FLIP said that journalists outside major cities “work without security teams and face pressure from armed criminal groups… that try to control and silence local information.”
FLIP also demanded that the Colombian government “stop being indifferent about aggressions against the press and adopt effective protection measures for at-risk journalists.”
Editor’s note: This alert has been updated with the details of Pérez’s death.