On the evening of 22 September 2009, Supía TV journalist and cameraman Diego Rojas Velázquez was killed.
(FLIP/IFEX) – On the evening of 22 September 2009, Supía TV journalist and cameraman Diego Rojas Velázquez was killed. The motive for the killing is not yet known.
The incident occurred on the outskirts of the city around 6:30 p.m., after the journalist received a call in his office telling him about an incident taking place in the nearby town of Caramanta, Antioquia. According to authorities, when the reporter was on his way to Caramanta on his motorcycle someone intercepted him and shot him four times. The assailant then left the scene on Rojas’s motorcycle. Rojas was seriously injured and taken to a nearby hospital where he later died.
In a conversation with FLIP, Supía Police Inspector Héctor Enrique Montoya said that at this point there is no clear link between Rojas’s murder and his work as a journalist. He also said that Rojas had never reported any threats against him. Montoya had even spoken to Rojas on the morning of the murder and says he was calm and didn’t mention any problems. He said that the Judicial Police are heading the investigation.
Yesid Andrade Arango, a former co-worker of Rojas’s at the local channel Cable Unión, said that Rojas had been very passionate about his work. Andrade added that when Rojas had worked at Cable Unión, up to two months before his murder, he had covered issues of public interest and legal topics, but he had not reported on anything controversial.
Supía mayor Germán Ovidio Tobón told local media that there had not been any reports of threats against the journalist.
FLIP sends a message of condolence to the friends and family of Diego Rojas Velázquez and expresses its solidarity with the journalistic team at Supía TV. It also calls on authorities to investigate the crime and bring those responsible for the murder to justice. FLIP will continue to document this case to try to determine if this homicide was connected to Rojas’s journalistic work.
