Colombia / Americas

  
Álvaro Uribe, center, poses for pictures with supporters at his home in Rionegro, Colombia, in June 2018. Colombia's former president filed a civil defamation suit in the U.S. against journalist Daniel Coronell. (AFP/Joaquin Sarmiento)

Uribe lawsuit part of ‘systematic campaign to silence me,’ Colombian reporter Coronell says

A civil defamation lawsuit filed in a U.S. court by former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez against journalist Daniel Coronell is the latest broadside in a long and bitter dispute pitting one of Colombia’s most powerful politicians against an investigative reporter.

Read More ›

A police officer is seen in Cucuta, Colombia, on February 7, 2019. Documentary filmmaker Mauricio Lezama was recently shot and killed in the village of La Esmeralda. (Reuters/Luisa Gonzalez)

Documentary filmmaker Mauricio Lezama shot and killed in Colombia

Bogotá, May 13, 2019 — Colombian authorities should conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation into the killing of documentary filmmaker Mauricio Lezama Rengifo and ensure those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya (L) speaks during a press conference on November 2, 2014, in Havana, Cuba. Colombia sentenced two ex-paramilitary fighters for a 2000 attack on Bedoya on May 6, 2019. (AFP/Adalberto Roque)

Colombia sentences two ex-paramilitary fighters for 2000 attack on Jineth Bedoya

Miami, May 8, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the sentencing on May 6 of former paramilitary fighters Alejandro Cárdenas Orozco and Jesús Emiro Pereira Rivera for the kidnapping, rape, and torture of Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima in 2000.

Read More ›

Senator Alvaro Uribe Velez is seen at the National Congress in Bogota, Colombia, on April 30, 2019. Uribe and his allies have recently filed defamation suits and retraction requests against journalist Daniel Coronell. (AFP/Diana Sanchez)

Former Colombian President Uribe and allies file defamation suits against Daniel Coronell

New York, May 8, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by civil defamation lawsuits filed in the U.S. state of Florida against journalist Daniel Coronell by former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, now a senator, and his allies, which could have a chilling effect on reporting on the Colombian politician.

Read More ›

A tribute to victims of an April 2018 suicide attack in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, that killed at least nine journalists. (AP/Rahmat Gul)

Getting Away with Murder

CPJ’s 2018 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free By Elisabeth Witchel, CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant Impunity is entrenched in 14 nations, according to CPJ’s 2018 Global Impunity Index, which ranks states with the worst records of prosecuting the killers of journalists.

Read More ›

A bridge during sunset in Bogota, Colombia in May 2018. A Bogota court sentenced José Miguel Narváez to 30 years in prison for instigating the murder of Colombian journalist, comedian, and peace activist Jaime Garzón. (Reuters/Henry Romero)

Mastermind convicted in 1999 murder of Colombian journalist Jaime Garzón

Bogotá, Colombia, August 15, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the conviction and sentencing of the organizer of the 1999 murder of Colombian journalist, comedian, and peace activist Jaime Garzón, and expressed disappointment that the court did not consider Garzon’s work as a journalist in its decision.

Read More ›

A fruit vendor in El Putumayo, Colombia, on October 9, 2016. Colombian journalists received series of threats over 72 hours starting July 14, 2018. (Reuters/Guillermo Granja)

Colombian journalists receive series of threats over 72 hours

New York, July 18, 2018–Colombian authorities should immediately investigate a series of threats against journalists and news outlets in recent days, ensure the journalists’ safety, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

A man reads a newspaper in Bogotá in May. An international court has ordered Colombia to properly pursue justice for a radio journalist killed in 1998. (Reuters/Jaime Saldarriaga)

Inter-American Court of Human Rights orders Colombia to investigate journalist’s murder

Bogotá, Colombia, June 8, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed an historic ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that ordered the Colombian government to uphold its responsibility to investigate the 1998 murder of radio journalist Nelson Carvajal Carvajal.

Read More ›

El Tiempo cartoonist Matador says he decided to stop publishing his work on social media after receiving a death threat. (María Fernanda Barberi)

Death threat drives Colombian cartoonist Matador offline

During his 15-year career satirizing public figures, Colombia’s best-known editorial cartoonist has made numerous enemies. In his drawings for the Bogotá daily El Tiempo, Julio César González, better known by his pen name, Matador, targets politicians of all stripes.

Read More ›

Colombian photographers leave the cameras on the floor in front of the Ecuadorean embassy in Bogota, Colombia, on April 16, 2018, to protest against the murder of journalist Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and their driver Efrain Segarra, (Reuters/Jaime Saldarriaga)

CPJ calls for justice for Ecuadoran reporting team killed in Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia, April 17, 2018–Authorities in Ecuador and Colombia must conduct a transparent investigation into the kidnapping and killing of an Ecuadoran reporting team in Colombia and ensure all those responsible face justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›