The Colombian secretary of defense Juan Carlos Pinzón has said journalists will continue to accompany the army in operations, El Espectador reported Friday.
Following the recent kidnapping of French journalist Romeo Langlois, extra precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of embedded journalists, according to Pinzon.
“We will develop more protocols, but in now way are we going to back down from what we believe is important for the freedom of the media,” he said.
Pinzon’s opinion is contradictory to that of Vice President Angelino Garzon, who has said that the French journalist never should have been present in the military operation.
According to Garzon the media should perform their work independently, without the support of the army or illegal armed groups.
French journalist Romeo Langlois was released on Wednesday by the FARC after 33 days of captivity. At the time of his capture, Langlois was embedded with a military unit while making a documentary on anti-drug operations in southern Colombia.
