(IPYS/IFEX) – On 16 July 2004, journalist Dariana Bracho said that two days earlier she received seven death threats via telephone calls. Bracho works for “La Verdad” newspaper, in the city of Maracaibo, located in western Venezuela on the border with Colombia. Bracho said she received the threats after she was summoned on 13 July […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 16 July 2004, journalist Dariana Bracho said that two days earlier she received seven death threats via telephone calls. Bracho works for “La Verdad” newspaper, in the city of Maracaibo, located in western Venezuela on the border with Colombia.
Bracho said she received the threats after she was summoned on 13 July by National Guard Captain Gherson Francisco Chacón Paz, who is the chief military prosecutor for the Zulia and Falcón states. Bracho was told to appear before the Third Regional Command’s Intelligence Division at 8:00 a.m. (local time) on 14 July to answer questions regarding the contents of a 21 June “La Verdad” article. The meeting never took place, however, as Chacón failed to appear at the specified time.
The journalist told IPYS that, on 14 July, she received seven threatening telephone calls, five to her house and two to her mobile phone. The callers “used vulgar language and told me to shut up and stop reporting on border issues. If I don’t, they said they would kill me. My mother and brother also received similar phone calls. Based on the voices, I could tell that they were different men calling,” Bracho said.
Bracho was summoned by the National Guard as a witness to provide information regarding when, how and where she obtained a document that “La Verdad” published on 21 June. The document indicates that the head of the National Guard’s Third Regional Command was instructed not to talk about the guerrillas. The information was published in “La Verdad”, under the title, “Head of Core 3 told not to talk about the guerrillas”.
Bracho said the regional military authorities, especially the National Guard’s high command, have expressed their irritation ever since the newspaper began reporting on the 20 December 2003 killing of four National Guard officers on the border. The killing was perpetrated by guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC).
According to Bracho, after receiving the threats, she met with the newspaper’s directors and legal team to decide whether to file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s office.
