Five armed men have stormed the premises of a radio station in Valledupar, in the northern department of Cesar, and destroyed all the radio transmitters as they held two people hostage, La W Radio reported Wednesday.
“La Voz de Cañaguate” was attacked by the armed group on Tuesday night, where they gagged and restrained the guard and another worker from 9PM until 6AM on Wednesday morning.
The purpose of the attack remains unclear but the group apparently set out to destroy the radio transmitters in particular. The total damage to various equipment was estimated by manager Ruth Leonor Yadira Martinez to be around $170,000.
“We do not have enemies, I do not know what the goal is of doing this damage to us and to the community because we are a normal station,” she said.
She predicted that the station will not have recovered in time to cover the Vallenata Festival nor the regional elections, calling on authorities to launch a full investigation into the incident.