The commander of the National Liberation Army (ELN), Antonio García, used his social networks to intimidate and threaten journalists who have questioned the criminal actions of this guerrilla. In particular, García has directed his threats at Vicky Dávila, director of SEMANA, and at María Alejandra Villamizar, raising concern in the journalistic community.
García used his Twitter account from Venezuela to launch direct threats once morest the journalists. In a message addressed to Villamizar, García responded to a journalist’s comment regarding the transience of life, using lyrics from a song to threaten her.
“Vicky Davila went to María Alejandra Villamizar’s head. Pain hurts the same on both sides, that’s why we must respect each other.” Garcia wrote.
In another Tweet, García pointed out: “María Alejandra Villamizar says that ‘nobody is eternal in the world’, referring to the ELN. She responded with the same song by her favorite singer, Darío Gómez: “You will suffer, you will cry while you get used to losing, then you will resign yourself when you don’t see me once more ”, message that is considered a direct threat.
In addition, the ELN commander continues to justify the massacre of the military, assuring that, “As combatants, the military has beaten us in recent months, and we have beaten them… so ‘puño y pisto is not a fight’. he claimed.
Likewise, García mentioned Dávila in another letter and suggested that the SEMANA leadership should attend the meetings of the ELN Command to obtain objective information, insinuating that the articles in the magazine had offended the guerrillas.
“We will have to consider the possibility that the management of the Semana Vicky Davila Magazine can attend the meetings of the ELN Command so that they can be informed objectively. They seem offended, by what is said in one of the articles of our Insurrection 887 Magazine″, warned the ELN commander.
President Gustavo Petro also spoke out energetically once morest these threats and defended freedom of the press: “Our government resolutely defends press freedom, one of the pillars of any democracy. We reject the threatening messages once morest journalists María Alejandra Villamizar and Vicky Dávila. I ask the authorities to guarantee the integrity of the journalists.”
For her part, Vicky Dávila also responded to García on Twitter, accusing him of being a criminal and a threat. “You, Antonio García, are you publicly threatening journalists? When will you understand that those who are criminals are you, that those who are outside the law are you. I take his mention, being armed, as a threat. Meanwhile, sitting in Mexico warming up and lying”, the journalist stated.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Democratic Center, Juan Espinal, requested the closure of the ELN commander’s Twitter account: “We request from Colombia the closure of the account of this bandit, who from his profile is threatening journalists and sending intimidating and threatening messages to the country! @eloMyMusic @Twitter.”
The Democratic Center also expressed its rejection of the ELN’s threats and intimidation once morest journalists, and expressed its support and solidarity towards Dávila and Villamizar. The party emphasized the ELN’s lack of will to achieve peace and reiterated its commitment to defending press freedom.
