Telesur Journalist Arrested and Accused of "Terrorism" in Colombia

By Dan Feder
Nov 20
BOGOTA

Freddy Muñoz, correspondent in Colombia for the Venezuela-based cable news station Telesur, was detained last night at the Bogotá international airport as he returned from a trip to Caracas. He is now being held at the headquarters of the Administrative Department for Security (DAS, Colombia’s “secret narco-police”).

It has only been in the last few hours that this situation has come to light. Tonight, every Colombian newscast featured Muñoz’ face and the announcement that he was charged with “rebellion and terrorism,” specifically of involvement in two “terrorist attacks” in 2002, in the Caribbean cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla, according to a DAS official quoted by the EFE news agency. This was a clear attack on the independent and critical press by the Colombian government. Being publicly accused of “terrorism” is often an invitation for assassination attempts in Colombia, where armed paramilitary groups rush to take out anyone who can be portrayed as an “insurgent.” At the very least, the Colombian government, in allowing the press to discover the accusations against Muñoz has made a very heavy-handed attempt to discredit an accomplished journalist who has exposed the ugly side of the Colombian and U.S. governments’ war against leftwing rebels.

Muñoz’ work for Telesur has been most notable for his investigations into the problem of forced displacement in the Colombian civil war. Before working for Telesur he was a reporter and editor for several commercial newspapers and televisions shows. A short comment from him was just broadcast on Colombian television, in which he says, “I am neither a terrorist nor a rebel. I would have no time for such things, I have dedicated my life to the work of journalism.”

A protest outside the DAS offices in Bogota has been called for tomorrow at 11 a.m. We’ll keep watching and reporting on this brazen attack against freedom of the press in Colombia.