The largest opposition coalition in Venezuela, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), demanded this Saturday official information about the whereabouts of journalist Joan Camargowho, according to the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP), “was intercepted by unidentified men” on Thursday in Caracas and is missing.
“We add our voice to the just demand of the relatives of journalist Joan Camargo, who has been missing for more than 48 hours. We demand official information about his whereabouts“, stated the PUD in its X account.
On Thursday, the SNTP reported that the reporter left his house at 8:05 local time (12:05 GMT) that day and He was “intercepted” by a “motorcycle and a red vehicle from which several men got out and forced him to get on.”
The journalist’s family published a statement, through the press union’s X account, in which they indicated that during Friday they toured six detention centers in Caracas. In fact, “some of them even two or three times.”
“In all cases, the answer has been the same: that Joan is not there,” the family said.
What is known about the disappearance of Joan Camargo?
“Joan Camargo is in a condition of forced disappearance. A violation of human rights that requires an immediate, coordinated and effective response from the competent authorities,” added the PUD.
At the moment, neither the government nor the Prosecutor’s Office have reported the arrest. If it is confirmed that it is an arrest, the number of journalists and press workers imprisoned in Venezuela would rise to 23. This according to what the SNTP informed EFE.
On October 19, the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) reported that there are journalists detained in Venezuela. Mainly “as part of the serious repression to which the Nicolás Maduro regime has subjected the independent press.”
In the Chapultepec Index 2024, the IAPA ranked Venezuela in 21st place out of 22 countries analyzed regarding the behavior of freedoms of expression and the press.
