Colombian journalist Walter López was the victim of an attack on Wednesday, November 4, when several armed men entered his home in the municipality of Barrancabermeja, in the department of Santander. The attack occurred weeks after he received threats from people who claimed to belong to a criminal gang and reported the removal of his security device.
First modification: 05/11/2026 - 23:45
Colombian journalist Walter López was the victim of an attack on Wednesday, November 4, when several armed men entered his home in the municipality of Barrancabermeja, in the department of Santander (northeast of Colombia), as reported this Thursday by the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP).
López, director of the magazine 'Debate Político', stated that the men hit him on the head with a firearm and then shot several times at the ground.
"While they attacked him, they stated that the attack against him was 'by toad,'" the FLIP detailed in a statement on its X social network account.
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The organization recalled that, two weeks ago, López reported that the National Protection Unit (UNP) had notified him of the withdrawal of his security device, which included a bodyguard and an armored vest.
"In one of the messages they sent him a photograph of his house and made reference to his journalistic work and warned that they would retaliate against his family," said FLIP, an organization that monitors violations against press freedom in Colombia.
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According to the journalist, those who threatened him identified themselves as members of the criminal gang 'Los R-15'.
"Given what happened, we ask the UNP Colombia to assign a security scheme for emergency procedures to Walter López," demanded the FLIP.
In addition, he asked the Attorney General's Office and the Police to investigate the complaints that López had presented, while urging the law enforcement agencies to "guarantee his safety through comprehensive support that prevents new attacks."
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Colombia has recorded four murders of journalists so far this year, according to the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The most recent case is that of Julián Hincapié, a community journalist and human rights defender from the municipality of Anorí, in the department of Antioquia, whose body was found dead at the beginning of October, after being missing for three weeks.
Hincapié's crime is added to those of journalists Mateo Pérez Rueda and Cristian Herrera, murdered in May and June, respectively, while carrying out their work.
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The prosecutor's office finalizes a special protocol for violence against journalists
The attack against Walter López takes place amid the efforts of the Attorney General's Office of Colombia and FLIP to develop an investigation protocol for cases of violence against journalists and communicators, which is expected to be ready by the end of this year.
The initiative aims to reduce impunity for these crimes, identify both the material and intellectual authors and consider the journalistic activity of the victims as a possible motive for the attacks.
According to FLIP data, since 1977, 172 murders of journalists have been recorded in Colombia for reasons linked to their profession. Of these cases, only one has been fully clarified, with the identification of the material and intellectual authors.
With EFE
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