The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed the release on Saturday of Miami Herald journalist Jim Wyss after 48 hours in Venezuelan custody.

Venezuelan authorities took Wyss, the Herald’s Bogota-based Andean bureau chief, into custody on Thursday near the Colombian border, apparently after the journalist requested an interview with local military officials. Wyss was said to be in the area conducting research for several stories, including one on Venezuela’s Dec. 8 municipal elections.  

According to the Herald, Venezuelan officials stated that Wyss’ detention was due to his having lacked the proper documentation for reporting in the country. On Friday, Wyss was flown to Caracas, where he was ultimately freed a day later following international pressure and intervention by Herald representatives. John Yearwood, the paper’s world editor and a vice chair of IPI’s Executive Board, arrived in Caracas on Saturday to help secure Wyss’s release.  

“We’re happy and relieved that Jim has been released,” Yearwood told IPI. “A broad coalition, which included press freedom organisations, worked hard to bring about his relatively quick release. For that, we are very grateful.”  

IPI Press Freedom Manager Barbara Trionfi welcomed the release, but she said Wyss’ arrest was highly concerning.  

“Unfortunately, this incident appears to follow an all-too familiar path of government intimidation of the media in Venezuela,” she said. “We urge Venezuelan authorities to allow all journalists, both local and foreign, to do their job of reporting on issues and events that affect the Venezuelan people.”