24 January 2025 | CPJ
Colombian journalist fatally shot entering his radio station
Shooting
Journalist Óscar Gómez Agudelo was fatally shot as he entered his office on January 24, 2025, at the community radio station Rumba del Café in the western Colombian city of Armenia. Security camera footage showed Gómez trying to get away as the gunman opened fire.
The Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) said Gómez was well known for his morning news program on Rumba del Café that regularly denounced alleged corruption by local government officials as well as the sale of illegal drugs on the streets of Armenia.
FLIP and the Bogotá news magazine Semana reported that Gómez had received threats in connection with his reporting, including a 2023 incident in which a politician in Armenia threatened him with a gun during a meeting. FLIP said Gómez did not report these threats to the authorities because he distrusted them.
Following Gómez’s death, Rumba del Café’s nine remaining journalists sought protection from the Colombian government’s National Protection Unit, according to Semana.
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