(FLIP/IFEX) – Gustavo Bell Lemus, the editor of “El Heraldo de Barranquilla” newspaper, as well as two of that newspaper’s columnists, Ernesto McCausland Sojo and Armando Benedetti Jimeno, received threats in the form of packages containing mock bombs. The cardboard boxes contained various wires, a watch, and a condolence card. The first two packages were […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – Gustavo Bell Lemus, the editor of “El Heraldo de Barranquilla” newspaper, as well as two of that newspaper’s columnists, Ernesto McCausland Sojo and Armando Benedetti Jimeno, received threats in the form of packages containing mock bombs. The cardboard boxes contained various wires, a watch, and a condolence card.
The first two packages were left 3 June 2006 at the homes of Benedetti and McCausland. Benedetti was formerly the Communications Minister in the government of Ernesto Samper (1994-1998) and is also a columnist for the newspaper “El Tiempo”. McCausland is also a journalist for the radio station Caracol Radio and is a film producer.
McCausland informed FLIP’s Barranquilla correspondent that the package he received came with a “beeper” and that it was the first time he ever received a threat in this form.
The third packed arrived on the afternoon of 5 June to the home of Gustavo Bell, who has been editor of “El Heraldo” since January 2005, after having served as Vice-President, and latterly the Minister of Defence, during the government of Andrés Pastrana (1998-2002).
According to the Chief of Police in Atlántico Department, General Rafael Parra, the objects were in small boxes containing wires, a watch, and a smaller box in which were stored condolence cards that read: “Don’t get mixed up in things that don’t concern you. The next time, you’ll be blown up”. The third package, addressed to the editor, was already expected by police.
The recent editorial line of “El Heraldo” has been critical on the topics of corruption, crime, and administrative chaos in Barranquilla. For their part, Benedetti and McCausland have touched upon, among other topics, crime in this city in northern Colombia.
According to the webpage Semana.com, both an editorial of the newspaper and a column by Benedetti focused on construction projects near Arroyo del Country, a neighbourhood of the city. “The journalists wrote that these construction projects endangered the environment and the city, and that they are targeting a space used and appreciated by the public”, asserted the webpage.
The regional director of the state security agency (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, DAS), Senén González, told local and national media that they would step up security measures to protect the journalists. Police Chief Parra stated that the national chief of police, General Jorge Daniel Castro Castro, would assign special units to investigate the case and take appropriate precautionary measures.
FLIP condemns the threats against the editor and columnists of “El Heraldo de Barranquilla” and calls upon the authorities to investigate the motives behind the threats and to capture the perpetrators.
It is not the first time that various Atlantic Coast journalists are threatened simultaneously. In 2005, during the Cartagena mayoral elections, three journalists were threatened at once. This type of action should clearly signal to authorities those topics of public interest that certain parties wish to keep hidden.
