Colombia's de la Espriella administration tightens media control and intensifies journalist intimidation

Investigative journalists at Caracol Radio in Bogotá published a leak showing the presidential office directing ministries to refuse interviews and limit press conferences to media deemed friendly, requiring prior approval for any coverage. A few days later the presidency released an official communication reiterating the same restrictions and prescribing that visual material resemble official press releases and that language stress hope and reconstruction.

The Colombian Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) warned that these measures further restrict information flow, especially for regional reporters. Under President Abelardo Gabriel de la Espriella Otero, journalist assaults have risen sharply, with daily threats and incidents such as a taxi driver attempting to run over Ana Christina Restrepo, who now travels with bodyguards. The government also dismissed cartoonist Vladdo from RCN Televisión after he posted a caricature of the president, and ended the three-hour morning program "Mañanas Blu 10:30" hosted by Camila Zuluaga, a critic frequently denied interview opportunities.