537: President Petro's Rocky Relationship with the Media

Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

Petro's first two years as president have been marked by tension between him and various media sectors. He has repeatedly denigrated journalism critical of his government, labelling those responsible as “liars” and “scumbags” who are just trying to undermine his administration.

Petro’s attacks began after the Bogotá-based news magazine Cambio published an article by political reporter Maria Jimena Duzán on 23 June in which she raised questions about the possibly fraudulent manner in which the brother of the president’s chief of staff had obtained public contracts.

The president responded on his X account by branding Duzán’s reporting as “Mossad journalism” and suggesting that she was involved in a disinformation campaign designed to hurt his government. Duzán said she received threats after this post by the president.

Since the start of the year, Reporters Without Borders has registered two journalists killed in Colombia in connection with out their reporting. while FLIP (Colombian Foundation for Press Freedom) has registered 330 other press freedom violations, including 133 cases of threats, 43 verbal attacks and 11 physical attacks. Of these attacks, 81 were perpetrated by government officials and 69 by armed groups, which highlights the complexity of combating this growing phenomenon in Colombia, one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America for journalists.

In Colombia, the media confront opposing realities. In the nation’s capital there is virtually no censorship or threats against the media. However, Colombia’s regional media outlets face many pressures, according to the FLIP based in Bogotá. In the last four years, FLIP has documented an annual average of 200 threats against journalists, a number that has been increasing steadily.