.
![Carcel Modelo? Bogota 80 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
![Homeless near Tequendama, Bogota 80 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
![Broken hidaldo, Bogota | by Marcelo Montecino]()
![Untitled-Bogota, 78 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Untitled-Bogota, 78: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
![M19 Guerrilla, Bogota, 1980 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
![Security, Bogota, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
After the Fight, Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 September 2005
![Bogota, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 September 2005
![Bogota, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Cops, Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 February 2005
![M19 guerrillas, Dominican Embassy, Bogota, 1980 -1 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
M19 Guerillas, Dominican Embassy, Bogota, 1980-1: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 7 April 2016
![M19 Guerillas, Dominican Embassy, Bogota 80 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
![M19 guerrillas, Dominican Embassy, Bogota, 1980 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
M19 Guerillas, Dominican Embassy, Bogota, 1980: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 17 June 2015
![Mariachi in the bullring, Bogota, 1976 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Mariachi in the bullring, Bogota, 1976: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 9 March 2017
![Cali, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Photographer, Cali, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 February 2005
![Medellin, 1978, 2Scan-150207-0004 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
![Burdel, Medellin, 1978, +3 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Burdel, Medellin,1978, +3 1976: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 June 2015
![House on Xmas, Medellin, 78 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
House on Xmas, Medellin, 78: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 29 August 2014
![Xmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Christmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
![Christmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia 78 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Christmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
![Christmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Christmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
![Untitled-Medellin, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Untitled - Medellin, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
![Medellín, Colombia, 1997 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Medellin, Colombia, 1997: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 22 November 2007
![Divorce Street, Bogota, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Divorce Street, Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 February 2005
![Streetkids, Bogotá, Colombia, 78 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Streetkids, Bogotá, Colombia 78: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 16 August 2014
![Gamines, Bogota, Colombia, 1977 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Gamines, Bogotá, Colombia, 1977: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 9 March 2017
![Lonely in Bogotá, Colombia 77 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Lonely in Bogotá, Colombia 77: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 16 August 2014
![Gamines (street Kids) Bogota, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Gamines (street Kids) Bogotá, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 16 August 2014
![Street Kids (gamines), Bogota, Colombia, 1977 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Street Kids(gamines), Bogotá, Colombia, 1977: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 10 May 2017
![Gamines (street kids), Bogota, Colombia, 1978 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Gamines (street Kids) Bogotá, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 10 May 2017
![Beaten boy, Bogota. 78 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Beaten boy, Bogota. 78: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
![Carcel Modelo, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Carcel Modelo, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 11 February 2015
![Carcel Modelo, Bogota, 1980,,,, 322776622mm-29m | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Carcel Modelo, Bogota, 1980,,,, 322776622mm-29m: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 21 November 2013
![Carcel Modelo, Bogota, Col. 1980 | by Marcelo Montecino]()
![Olvidados, Bogota, Colombia | by Marcelo Montecino]()
Olvidados, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 13 May 2016
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Iván Duque has vowed to overhaul the peace accord, which was brokered by Juan Manuel Santos.: photo: Leonardo Munoz/EPA, 29 July 2018
Duque’s electoral victory was largely due to the support by Uribe, who led a fierce military campaign against the Farc, but has been dogged by allegations of human rights abuses and associations with paramilitaries. His brother Santiago is currently awaiting trial for allegedly running his own death squad.
Carcel Modelo? Bogota80: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 June 2005
Broken hidalgo,Bogota, 1980: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 23 March 2005
Untitled-Bogota, 78: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
Security, Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 22 August 2012
After the Fight, Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 September 2005
Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 September 2005
Cops, Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 February 2005
M19 Guerillas, Dominican Embassy, Bogota, 1980: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 17 June 2015
Mariachi in the bullring, Bogota, 1976: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 9 March 2017
Photographer, Cali, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 February 2005
Burdel, Medellin,1978, +3 1976: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 June 2015
House on Xmas, Medellin, 78: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 29 August 2014
Christmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
Christmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
Christmas in the House in Medellin, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
Untitled - Medellin, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
Medellin, Colombia, 1997: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 22 November 2007
Divorce Street, Bogota, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 27 February 2005
Gamines, Bogotá, Colombia, 1977: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 9 March 2017
Gamines (street Kids) Bogotá, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 16 August 2014
Street Kids(gamines), Bogotá, Colombia, 1977: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 10 May 2017
Gamines (street Kids) Bogotá, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 10 May 2017
Beaten boy, Bogota. 78: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 30 March 2005
Carcel Modelo, Bogota, 1980,,,, 322776622mm-29m: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 21 November 2013
Olvidados, Colombia: photo by Marcelo Montecino, 13 May 2016
Colombian journalists say death threats reflect 'ugly' climate since presidential election:Journalists say ‘dangerous new atmosphere’ has emerged since Iván Duque, a fierce opponent of the peace process, won election: Ed Vulliamy, The Guardian, 29 July 2018
Iván Duque has vowed to overhaul the peace accord, which was brokered by Juan Manuel Santos.: photo: Leonardo Munoz/EPA, 29 July 2018
Prominent Colombian journalists have warned that a string of death threats over their coverage of the country’s peace process reflects an “ugly and dangerous new atmosphere” in the country since the election of its new president.
María Jimena Duzán of the weekly magazine Semana was threatened on Twitter with a message urging she be “raped, spat upon, chopped up with a chainsaw and hung in the Plaza de Bolívar” – the main square in the capital, Bogotá.
Minutes after the threat was sent, the account which posted it and the IP address were closed.
Duzan said threats to her and other journalists have escalated since the election of conservative Iván Duque, a protégé of former president Álvaro Uribe – who viscerally opposes the peace deal with the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the Farc. Duque, who will be sworn in on 7 August, has vowed to “overhaul” the peace accord.
Threats were also made against Jineth Bedoya Lima of El Tiempo newspaper, and Yolanda Ruiz, Jorge Espinosa and Juan Pablo Latorre of RCN radio.
Threats were also sent to La Silla Vacia – a website service reporting on the peace process brokered by the outgoing president Juan Manuel Santos.
Bedoya and Silla Vacia both received leaflets declaring them as “military objectives” and signed by the “Black Eagles” – a name often used by the country’s far-right paramilitary groups.
Duzán’s sister Silvia, also a journalist, was murdered by paramilitaries in 1990 while making a documentary for Britain’s Channel 4 on peasant organisations working for peace.
Her killers have never been brought to justice and her case became a symbol of the impunity which has characterized attacks on the country’s journalists and activists.
The threats come amid a string of attacks on social, indigenous and land rights leaders and efforts to restore land to rural families displaced by the rebels – or more commonly by paramilitaries working for large landowners and drug cartels. Since the peace accord was signed in August 2016, more than 150 activists and community leaders have been murdered.
“The paramilitaries feel emboldened by the change in government,” said Duzán.
Duque’s electoral victory was largely due to the support by Uribe, who led a fierce military campaign against the Farc, but has been dogged by allegations of human rights abuses and associations with paramilitaries. His brother Santiago is currently awaiting trial for allegedly running his own death squad.
Earlier this week, Uribe announced his resignation from the senate after he was called to testify in a supreme court investigation over allegations of witness tampering, but his influence remains formidable. It was largely thanks to his efforts that the peace deal was initially rejected by Colombian voters in a 2016 referendum.
“Uribe’s position against the core of the implentation of the peace process was part of the speeches that won the elections. Uribistas are stigmatizing the voices that back the peace process. It’s has become a sin to say that you are for the peace process. Automatically you become someone sinister,” Duzán said.
Duzán warned that without action by the Colombian authorities, the country risked a return to the dark days racked by all-out war between guerrillas, cartels, paramilitaries and the state.
She said: “I want to see a stop to this now. We cannot go back to those days when my sister and so many, many others were murdered for what they did. Colombia has moved on since then – there’s no going back to that nightmare.”
Bedoya was herself targeted, kidnapped and raped by paramilitaries in 2000, and then abducted by Farc rebels in 2003.
Her response to the most recent threats was characteristically forthright: “My life is governed by only one thing: journalism. And that is what I will continue to do regardless of ideologies and political convictions,” she wrote on Twitter. “To those who threatened me yesterday: line up because the list is long.”
President-elect Duque responded to the threats on Twitter, saying: “We reject any type of threat to freedom of the press and expression. All our support and accompaniment to MJ Duzan, threats, attacks and violent deaths must end in Colombia.”
But the threats to reporters have come all too common in Colombia, according to the Foundation for the Freedom of the Press, which reported 59 cases of threats to local reporters during 2015, 90 during 2017 and 89 so far in 2018.
![Medellin, Colombia 2017 | by Kristian Leven]()
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 25 January 2018
![Medellin, Colombia 2017 | by Kristian Leven]()
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 19 May 2017
![Bogota, Colombia 2017 | by Kristian Leven]()
Bogota, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 2 April 2017
![Bogota, Colombia 2017 | by Kristian Leven]()
Bogota, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 2 April 2017
![Bogota, Colombia 2017 | by Kristian Leven]()
Bogota, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 2 April 2017
![Medellin, Colombia 2017 | by Kristian Leven]()
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 25 March 2017
![Medellin, Colombia 2017 | by Kristian Leven]()
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 25 March 2017
![Medellin, Colombia 2017 | by Kristian Leven]()
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 25 March 2017
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My dad not wanting to leave his home. I lost my house 9 months ago...Support each other, love each other.. the smallest kindness can give someone the strength to make it through the day. Prayers for California #riverfire #ranchfire #MendocinoComplexFire: image via Alice Santana @aliisantana90, 29 July 2018
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Looking east to Cow mountain and Lakeport. Wind is up.#MendocinoComplex.: image via Nancy French Johnson @NancyFJohnson, 29 July 2018
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#RiverFire from Southern Ukiah: image via Caroline K @NutDeKoko, 28 July 2018
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#MendocinoComplex has devoured almost 25,000 acres and eight residences.: image via Kym Kemp @@KymKemp, 29 July 2018
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#RiverFire [update] off Old River Road, near Mile Marker Post 7.9, Hopland (Mendocino County) is now 6,000 acres and 2% contained. #RiverFire is now part of the #MendocinoComplex: image via CAL FIRE @CAL_FIRE, 28 July 2018
![Multiple fires across California stretch resources thin; Redding seeks more firefighters]()
The EconomistVerified account @TheEconomist
Juan Manuel Santos leaves Colombia a better place than he found it https://econ.st/2OlsdQ7
O. Bula Escobar retweeted The Economist
O. Bula Escobar added,
Sorry, never used this word before on twitter but: ¡BULLSHIT! With his approval rating at 14%, an economy in shambles, record Cocaine production, 80% of FARC not complying, new criminal gangs flourishing and FARC Kingpins still trafficking #Cocaine: BULLSHIT! #ColombiaTweet via O. Bula Escobar, 26 July 2018
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 25 January 2018
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 19 May 2017
Bogota, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 2 April 2017
Bogota, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 2 April 2017
Bogota, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 2 April 2017
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 25 March 2017
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 25 March 2017
Medellin, Colombia 2017: photo by Kristian Leven, 25 March 2017
My dad not wanting to leave his home. I lost my house 9 months ago...Support each other, love each other.. the smallest kindness can give someone the strength to make it through the day. Prayers for California #riverfire #ranchfire #MendocinoComplexFire: image via Alice Santana @aliisantana90, 29 July 2018
Looking east to Cow mountain and Lakeport. Wind is up.#MendocinoComplex.: image via Nancy French Johnson @NancyFJohnson, 29 July 2018
#RiverFire from Southern Ukiah: image via Caroline K @NutDeKoko, 28 July 2018
#MendocinoComplex has devoured almost 25,000 acres and eight residences.: image via Kym Kemp @@KymKemp, 29 July 2018
#RiverFire [update] off Old River Road, near Mile Marker Post 7.9, Hopland (Mendocino County) is now 6,000 acres and 2% contained. #RiverFire is now part of the #MendocinoComplex: image via CAL FIRE @CAL_FIRE, 28 July 2018
Homes destroyed near Redding: photo by Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2018