“We reject and deeply regret the murder of journalist Luis Gabriel Pereira in Ciénaga de Oro, Córdoba, who had recently denounced the murders committed against women in this municipality,” indicated the Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco, @velascoluisf on Twitter.
On the afternoon of May 9, two men on a motorcycle intercepted the 25-year-old communicator in the middle of a road and one of them shot him point blank, The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) specified in a bulletin.
Pereira was a journalist and director of the digital media Notiorense, which he had recently revealed the name of an alleged murderer of women in Ciénaga de Oro. He also investigated news related to public order, security and judicial matters, according to FLIP.
Minister Velasco urged “the judicial authorities to investigate these events and find the whereabouts of those responsible.”
It may interest: Two thirds of young women in the UK experience bullying at work
“We call to work against the stigmatization of people who carry out this fundamental work for democracy,” he added.
The special rapporteur for freedom of expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Pedro Vaca @PVacaV, condemned the murder on Twitter and made a “called to include his journalistic work within the research hypotheses”.
In the zone where Pereira worked, illegal armed groups associated with drug trafficking operatein the country that produces the most cocaine in the world.
If it is confirmed that the homicide is related to his informative work, The young man would be the third journalist murdered in the last seven months in Colombia, according to FLIP data.
According to the organization, two other recent cases of journalists murdered in the same region remain unpunished.
FLIP also called on President Gustavo Petro to publicly reject the homicide and take action to prevent violence against journalists, who in 2022 totaled 218 threats.
Also read: Musk says he has hired his replacement to run Twitter
According to Reporters Without Borders, Colombia is the third most dangerous country for journalists in Latin America, behind Mexico and Brazil.
Drug traffickers, guerrillas and state agents face each other in a conflict that has bled the country dry for half a century and has left more than 9 million victims.
The entrance A journalist who was investigating femicides in Colombia is shot to death was first published on newspaper TODAY.
