(IPYS/IFEX) – At midday (local time) on 30 May 2003, an unidentified assailant shot at the vehicle of journalist Gustavo Azócar. The vehicle was parked in front of the journalist’s residence in San Cristóbal city, in the southwestern state of Táchira. The bullet passed through the front windshield and embedded itself in the dashboard. Azócar […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – At midday (local time) on 30 May 2003, an unidentified assailant shot at the vehicle of journalist Gustavo Azócar. The vehicle was parked in front of the journalist’s residence in San Cristóbal city, in the southwestern state of Táchira. The bullet passed through the front windshield and embedded itself in the dashboard.
Azócar told IPYS that although he has not received any threats, this was not the first time he has been attacked. In October 2002, two armed men wearing hoods entered his residence and gagged his children. Nothing was stolen from the residence.
“I haven’t received any threats, but when somebody shoots at your car when it’s parked in front of your house, that becomes a threat,” said Azócar.
Because of the nature of the attacks, the journalist assumes that they are in response to his professional activity. “I think it’s because of my journalistic activity. It makes some people uncomfortable when you investigate, when you look for information. I think that this is connected, that it’s a rejection of my journalistic work,” he commented.
Azócar said that despite the attacks, he will continue to work as a journalist. He stated that he had asked the Scientific and Criminal Investigations Unit (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas, CICPC) to bring its expertise to bear on the case.
