John Otis/CPJ Andean Representative
John Otis, CPJ's Andes correspondent for the Americas program, works as a correspondent for Time magazine and the Global Post. He authored the 2010 book Law of the Jungle, about U.S. military contractors kidnapped by Colombian rebels, and is based in Bogotá, Colombia.
Peruvian journalists face threats, death amid country’s democratic backsliding
Peruvian journalist Geraldine Santos is only 30 years old, and she is already preparing for her funeral. Santos says she has received so many threats while reporting on cocaine trafficking and environmental crimes in the Amazon jungle that she has arranged for her family to contact a government source who, in case Santos is murdered,…
The attempted murder of a veteran journalist stirs fear, defiance in Colombia
Wanted Colombian rebel leader Aníbal Hernández Garavito was irate when he called into the local Es el Colmo (“It’s the last straw”) radio program at 5:48 a.m. on March 14, 2025. His voice raised, Hernández slammed the station’s critical coverage of his guerrilla group, but show host Gustavo Chicangana Álvarez refused to be bullied. Hernández, who had a $13,000 bounty on…
Colombian journalists in Arauca pressured from all sides
Although a long-running army offensive has improved security in much of Colombia, the oil-rich eastern province of Arauca remains a hot zone–for both combatants and journalists. This week, for example, the National Liberation Army (ELN), the smaller of the country’s two guerrilla groups, called a transportation strike, effectively shutting down traffic and commerce throughout the…