The International Press Institute (IPI) strongly condemns the killing of Colombian journalist and press freedom defender Cristian Herrera, and calls on Colombian authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable. We urge authorities to take immediate action to strengthen protections for journalists at risk.
Herrera was shot and killed on June 6 by an armed individual on a motorcycle in the Colombian city of Cúcuta, near Colombia’s border with Venezuela, while he was with his wife and daughter. On June 9, three suspects believed to be involved in the murder, including the alleged hitman, were arrested by local authorities.
Herrera, an award-winning journalist, was the founder and editor-in-chief of local digital media outlets Cúcuta Real and Cúcuta al Rojo Vivo. He was also a well-known press freedom defender, serving as a board member of the Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP), and as FLIP’s correspondent in the Colombian department of Norte de Santander.
Throughout his decades-long journalistic career, Herrera had faced many threats in retaliation for his reporting on the connections between official corruption, organised crime, and drug trafficking. In 2004, he was forced to flee Colombia for Chile after receiving threats to his life. In 2017, Herrera survived an assassination attempt.
Since 2014, he has reportedly received at least 17 threats to his life, and was assigned a protective detail under Colombia’s National Protection Unit (UNP). His bodyguards were not with him at the time of his June 6 murder.
According to FLIP, Cúcuta is the most dangerous city in Colombia for practising journalism. At the time of his killing, Herrera had been investigating possible links between organised crime groups and local politicians in Cúcuta and Norte de Santander.
Herrera is the second journalist to be killed in Colombia this year. On May 8, journalist Mateo Pérez Rueda was found dead days after he went missing in Antioquia, a department in northwest Colombia where armed groups compete with each other and the Colombian Army for control.
“IPI extends our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Cristian Herrera, who dedicated his life to defending independent journalism and press freedom, despite the high level of personal risk his work entailed,” said IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen.
“Herrera’s brutal killing is a chilling reminder of the dangers and pressure Colombia’s local and regional journalists continue to face. IPI stands in full solidarity with independent journalists in Colombia and calls on authorities to immediately step up protections for the country’s press.”