Gunman surveilled the victim before fatal shooting at his home in Sucre.

On Monday, Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office reported that a Colombian judge sentenced a man to 43 years and six months in prison for the killing of journalist Mardonio Mejia Mendoza, carried out Jan. 24, 2024, in the Caribbean department of Sucre.

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Mejia, who directed the Sonora Estereo radio station and covered local affairs in the municipality of San Pedro, Sucre, was shot in the back at his home, which also served as his workplace. After the attack, he was taken to a local hospital, where he died shortly afterward.

For the crime, the Attorney General’s Office Special Investigation Unit determined that Ledinwint Yesith Diaz Mercado, “in the company of another person, entered the premises where the victim was armed … located the journalist and, taking advantage of the fact that he had his back turned, fired several shots at him.”

Several security camera videos showed that Diaz Mercado and his accomplice had previously surveilled the journalist until finding “the exact moment” to enter his home and carry out the attack.

The text reads, “Nicolas Sanchez Arevalo, a journalist with Voragine, has received death threats, as has his family, for his investigative work on paramilitary groups and drug trafficking. We at Cuestion send our solidarity and support to the journalist and his team. Violence cannot silence the search for truth.”

The killer was sentenced by a criminal court judge for the crimes of “aggravated homicide and the manufacture, trafficking, carrying or possession of firearms, accessories, parts or ammunition,” the Attorney General’s Office added.

Mardonio Mejia Mendoza was the founder and director of the independent Sonora Estereo radio station in the northern town of San Pedro. He hosted a daily program, “Amanecer campesino,” that included reports on crime, law enforcement, and cattle ranching. He was reportedly shot by gunmen on a motorcycle at the entrance to his house and later died.

“I condemn the killing of Mardonio Mejia Mendoza. I urge the authorities to undertake an investigation into the circumstances of this killing and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Impunity for such crimes is unacceptable and must not be tolerated,” UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay said in 2024.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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