Journalists Killed in 2015 - Motive Unconfirmed: Luis Carlos Peralta Cuéllar

Linda Stereo
February 14, 2015, in Doncello, Colombia

Peralta, 63, owner and director of Linda Stereo radio station in the southern town of Doncello, was shot three times in the head by two gunmen who entered his home around 6 p.m., Geovanny Canacué, a Linda Stereo reporter, told CPJ. Peralta's wife was shot in the arm, but was in stable condition at a local hospital, Canacué said. The attack took place at Peralta's house, which doubled as the radio station headquarters.

Peralta founded Linda Stereo in 1998 and often broadcast critical editorials and news reports during a segment called "Palabras del Director" (Words from the Director). Canacué said that Peralta often used the segment to denounce government corruption in Doncello and nearby towns. Prior to his death, Peralta had reported on alleged cost overruns in the purchase of garbage trucks in Doncello, according to the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP).

Eight days before he was killed, Peralta told Canacué that he had received threats, but that he did not want to discuss them over the phone. The two men had planned to meet to discuss the details, Canacué said.

The day before Peralta was killed, he announced he would run in the October election for mayor of Doncello, a town in southern Caquetá state which has long been a stronghold of Marxist guerrillas.

"I think his death may have been related to the fact that he was permanently denouncing corrupt politicians and then wanted to run for mayor," José Ever Perdomo, a journalist who had worked with Peralta, told La Nación, a daily published in the nearby city of Neiva.

Doncello Mayor Fernando Troncoso did not return CPJ's calls requesting comment.

Col. William Alberto Boyacá, police commander in Caquetá state, announced a monetary reward for information leading to the capture of the perpetrators of the crime. On March 2, authorities arrested Yean Arlez Buenaventura Barreto, who they accused of being the gunman, according to news reports, but offered no information about a possible motive. Buenaventura denied any role in the murder. The next day, a judge released him, citing procedural errors in his detention, according to news reports. Prosecutors appealed the decision, the reports said.

Two weeks after Peralta's murder, FLIP announced it had formed "Project Caquetá," an initiative to continue and expand on the journalist's critical reporting, according to news reports.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.