Three journalists have been killed in Colombia since the beginning of 2010, according to statistics from The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), a watchdog NGO focused on freedom of the press.
According to the organization, no Colombian journalists have been murdered since July, when it reported the same figure.
This figure represents an increase from 2009, when two journalists were murdered in Colombia.
However, the new statistics represent a marked decrease from the period 2002-2005, when eighteen journalists were murdered in the country.
Worldwide, 90 journalists have been killed in the nine months since the start of the year, with Latin America leading regionally. No Colombian journalists have been killed since the last report issued in July.
A recent U.N. report released focused on the increase in violence against journalists, naming Colombia as having one of the highest murder rates of journalists in Latin America, after Mexico.
Reporters are often targeted when they investigate corruption, human rights abuses, and other illegal activity such as drug trafficking. The most recent journalist killed in Colombia was investigating links between paramilitary groups and the business elite.
Colombian Prosecutor General Guillermo Mendoza recently announced the reopening of 27 suspended or archived cases of assassinated journalists, receiving praise from The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA).
IAPA President Alejandro Aguirre supported the decision and expressed confidence that “full justice will be done in each of these cases.”
