The home of Rodolfo Zambrano, a journalist from the northern department of Bolivar, has been attacked.
Unidentified persons threw a firebomb into Zambrano’s house, but he was not there at the time.
Speaking to RCN radio Zambrano said, “Fortunately I had finished work and decided to go and visit my mother. While there I received a call from the fire department telling me of the incident.”
Firefighters were able to successfully douse the flames which only damaged the exterior of the house.
Authorities have now begun an investigation to determine both the motive and the perpetrators.
Persecution against journalists in Colombia is nothing new to the country. Under the administration of former President Alvaro Uribe, journalists were frequently targeted as part of illegal wiretapping operations carried out by the DAS.
The FARC have also targeted journalists in the past, most recently with threats being made to a reporter from El Tiempo in 2010 for her publishing of a book on the death of FARC leader “Mono Jojoy.”
In their annual report last year, Reporters Without Borders ranked Colombia 145th out of 178 countries for press freedom.
