(FLIP/IFEX) – On 16 September 2002, Américo Viáfara, a 39 year-old journalist, was assassinated in Cali, a city in the western part of Colombia. The murder occurred at 7:15 p.m. (local time) while Viáfara and two other men were travelling through the José Holguín Garcés neighbourhood on the Simon Bolívar highway. The two men, aged […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – On 16 September 2002, Américo Viáfara, a 39 year-old journalist, was assassinated in Cali, a city in the western part of Colombia. The murder occurred at 7:15 p.m. (local time) while Viáfara and two other men were travelling through the José Holguín Garcés neighbourhood on the Simon Bolívar highway. The two men, aged 27, accompanying Viáfara were Rubén Darío Cordoba Canaval, a lawyer and businessman, and Manuel Alberto Sevillano Ponce, an accountant.
According to police, the three men were traveling in Cordoba’s vehicle when a bus intercepted them. Two hired assassins on motorcycle pulled up at the same time and fired several shots. Viáfara was directly hit. He and his companions were taken to Valle del Lili Hospital. Viáfara was pronounced dead minutes later. Cordoba was also pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Sevillano, who was injured during the incident, is confined at the hospital.
FLIP’s initial investigations indicate that the assassination seemed to be directed at Cordoba and was not related to any of Viáfara’s journalistic work. There had been no previous reports that the journalist had received threats of any kind.
Viáfara, married with two kids, had a long journalistic history. For almost 12 years, he worked as a reporter and producer of documentary programming for a regional television station. Until 1994, he was a news correspondent in Buenaventura for the television stations Noticinco and Notipacífico. During a six-year period he produced documentaries for the television station Telepacífico. In his documentaries, Viáfara covered issues related to tourism and customs and cultural events of Colombia’s Pacific region.
Several months ago, Viáfara returned from the United States where he worked on a report about the support that Black communities in Colombia’s Pacific region were receiving. The report was aired by Notipacífico. Most recently, Viáfara had worked on several institutional projects with the national public television station Señal Colombia.
Authorities initiated an investigation into the assassination but have no leads regarding on the motives or perpetrators of the crime. FLIP will follow the case and the authorities’ investigation to ensure the crime is solved.
Cali and the entire Valle del Cauca department have one of the highest incidences of insecurity and violence in Colombia. Although this case appears not to be directly related to Viáfara’s work as a journalist, FLIP notes that journalists in Colombia have not been immune to this violent reality. Therefore, the state must act quickly and efficiently to resolve this situation, FLIP says.
