(FLIP/IFEX) – Journalist Carlos Lajud, of the Bogotá station City TV, owned by El Tiempo publishing house, and Astrid Legarda, journalist for Canal RCN television station, have left Colombia after receiving threats from Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) guerrillas. Legarda left the country on 3 July 2002, after a […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – Journalist Carlos Lajud, of the Bogotá station City TV, owned by El Tiempo publishing house, and Astrid Legarda, journalist for Canal RCN television station, have left Colombia after receiving threats from Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) guerrillas.
Legarda left the country on 3 July 2002, after a reliable source informed Canal RCN that the FARC were plotting to kill her in reprisal for her coverage of the conflict. She had reported on the fighting between paramilitaries and guerrilla groups and conducted interviews with paramilitaries of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC) (see IFEX alerts of 12 July and 7 June 2002).
Canal RCN has been the victim of several attacks over the past few months. In February, Claudia Gurissati, news host and director of the journalistic programme La Noche, was forced to leave Colombia a second time after receiving news of a possible threat to her life. In March, Juan Carlos Giraldo, legal editor for the Canal RCN newscast, received death threats (see IFEX alert of 12 March 2002). On 12 April, a “rocket” was launched at Canal RCN’s studios, causing material damage to the building (see IFEX alert of 16 April 2002).
Lajud and his wife Patricia Busigo left Colombia on 16 July as a safety precaution. On 4 April, Lajud received a letter at the City TV offices, which read “Our sincere condolences (â¦) for the death of Carlos Lajud.” The note also stated, “Carlos Lajud, journalist at the service of the oligarchy, we warn you now, you and your family are considered ‘military targets’. Do yourself a favour, you have 72 hours to leave the country, gossipy son-of-a-bitch.”
The threats were connected to some 20 investigative reports Lajud produced for the news programme, in which he condemned the alleged operation of urban cells established in Bogotá by FARC and National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberacion Nacional, ELN) guerrillas. Lajud explained how these militia bought explosives and reported that one of them had opened a clandestine clinic to treat its wounded. Lajud is the son of journalist Carlos Lajud Catalán, who was assassinated in Barranquilla on 19 March 1993 (see IFEX alerts of 25 June, 19 March, 30 and 5 January 2001 and 26 February 1997).
