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My chance encounter last year with Los Paisas, a criminal gang that operates in northern Colombia, began a nightmare that continues today. I was heading to an assignment in a tourist area south of Montería on July 9, 2009, when Los Paisas gang members blocked my car. The gang was meeting with local landowners nearby--and journalists were not welcome.
• Español
I revised my plans and
interviewed several local peasants, who denounced these gangsters who had been ransacking
and firing on their homes. The gang members were said to be protecting powerful
local landowners. Based on these interviews, I aired a special report on Montería-based
Radio Panzenú. A few days later I began receiving death threats from a man who
identified himself as a spokesperson for Los Paisas. He ordered me to stop
reporting on crime.
The threats grew more
serious in April 2010, when a flier signed by Los Paisas reached the radio
station: I would be shot to death, it said, on the streets of Montería that
month. The flier stoked the fears of local journalists already anxious after
the murder of Clodomiro Castilla Ospino, a colleague gunned down by two hit men at his
home in Montería a few days before. Three other local investigative reporters
also reported receiving death threats about that time.
I reported my case to
the prosecutor's office, which assigned a police officer to guard me during my
daily duties. I started taking a taxi to the radio station because walking or using
public transportation were no longer safe.
In places like
Montería, one can sense the fear among the population. I started to feel
marginalized. The managers at my radio station feared my presence in itself represented
a threat to the station, so they recommended I take some time off. Some journalists,
rather than condemning the threats, seemed to shift responsibility to me by accusing
me of speaking too much. Fortunately, throughout this painful ordeal, I could count
on a loyal ally--my family.
On May 27, the threats
became ever more real. Unidentified men in two vans arrived at my home, with one
of them demanding that I stop broadcasting anything about Los Paisas. He urged
me to forward that message to the entire local press corps. When I refused, he
ordered me to flee Montería. Otherwise, he said, they would hurt my family.
Four hours later I
landed in Bogota with no return ticket.
As a 58-year-old man, I've lived enough to say that fleeing is not an act of cowardice. I did so because of my wife and children, and because I don't have enough either economic or legal resources to stop such a powerful enemy.
Unemployed, I still
endure a nightmare in Bogota. In the capital, nobody wants to hire a
threatened, provincial journalist. Yet I don't regret having reported on the
illegal actions carried out by criminal gangs in my country. As a journalist I
couldn't have done otherwise.
Amenazas de bandas criminales llevan al exilio a reportero colombiano
Por Edgar Astudillo / Bloguero invitado del CPJ
Informé de mi caso a la fiscalía y me asignaron un policía que me acompañara en mis tareas diarias. Comencé a tomar un taxi que me trasladara hasta la radio porque caminar o usar el transporte público ya no eran seguros para mí.
Sufrí también el rechazo que las personas amenazadas padecen en una ciudad como Montería donde el miedo se respira. La gerencia de la radio pensaba que con mi sola presencia podían sufrir un atentado y me recomendaron tomar vacaciones por adelantado. Algunos colegas, en lugar de rechazar las amenazas, parecieron responsabilizarme por éstas y me acusaron de abrir la boca demasiado. Por suerte, en todo ese duro período tuve a mi lado a un aliado incondicional: mi familia.
El 27 de mayo las amenazas se hicieron más patentes que nunca. Desconocidos a bordo de dos camionetas llegaron hasta mi casa y uno de ellos me exigió que no hablara "ni mal ni bien de Los Paisas". Me instó también a que hiciera llegar el mensaje a toda la prensa local. Ante mi negativa, me ordenó que me fuera de Montería. Si no lo hacía -me dijo- le harían daño a mi familia.
Cuatro horas después, aterricé en Bogotá sin boleto de regreso a Montería.
A mis 58 años de edad, he vivido lo suficiente como para saber que huir del peligro no es un acto de cobardía. Lo hice por mi esposa y mis hijos, y porque no tengo capacidad defensiva, ni económica ni jurídica para hacer frente a un enemigo tan poderoso.
Desempleado, en Bogotá todavía enfrento a esta pesadilla. En la capital, nadie quiere contratar a un periodista de provincia amenazado. Pero, no me arrepiento de haber denunciado la presencia de bandas criminales en mi tierra. Como periodista no podía hacer una cosa diferente.
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