Mateo Pérez Rueda, 23, was found dead in rural Briceño after reporting clashes; officials, ICRC and Indepaz report reactions

Colombian journalist and political science student Mateo Pérez Rueda, 23, was found dead on Friday in a rural area of Briceño, Antioquia, four days after he was reported missing while covering armed clashes in the region.

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According to the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), Pérez Rueda had been reporting on armed confrontations and humanitarian conditions in the area at the time of his disappearance. He was reported missing on May 5 in the rural hamlet of Palmichal.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that a humanitarian mission accessed the Travesías area in Briceño to recover the body of the journalist.

Text Reads: We regret and condemn the murder of Mateo Pérez Rueda, director of El Confidente de Yarumal, #Antioquia. After several days of uncertainty, a humanitarian commission managed to recover his body, confirming the indications of his murder.

Social organizations and local media reported that Pérez may have been detained by members of Front 36, a dissident faction of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Pérez was a student of Political Science at the National University of Colombia in Medellín and director of the digital media outlet El Confidente de Yarumal.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated on social media that an armed group led by Jhon Edison Chalá Torrejano, known as Chalá and linked to a dissident faction of Front 36, was responsible for the killing. He also said that “there is no negotiation” with this group and linked it to illegal gold mining regulation in Antioquia.

Text Reads: The body of 23-year-old journalist and student Mateo Pérez Rueda, director of the Yarumal-based media outlet “El Confidente,” which he founded in high school, has been found. He was studying Political Science at the National University of Colombia, Medellín campus. / He was murdered by Jhon Edison Chalá Torrejano of the Darío Gutiérrez Front, a splinter group of the 36th Front, now completely fragmented into various criminal organizations. / The murder occurred in the El Hoyo village of the municipality of Briceño. / There are no negotiations with the government regarding Edison Chalá’s gang. Edison’s gang is dedicated to controlling illegal gold mining.

Caracol Radio reported that Antioquia Governor Andrés Julián Rendón condemned the government’s “total peace” policy and expressed condolences to the journalist’s family, saying: “This pain is an injustice, an irreparable harm,” after the recovery of the body was confirmed.

Indepaz reported that with Pérez’s death, the number of social leaders and human rights defenders killed in Colombia this year has risen to 57.

The organization also warned of ongoing intense armed conflict in Briceño involving illegal armed groups, including FARC dissidents, the Clan del Golfo, and other armed structures operating in the region.

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