The owner and editor-in-chief of a regional monthly newspaper that circulated in central Colombia has been shot dead, police said.
The body of Mario Prada Diaz, 46, owner and editor the Horizonte del Magdalena Medio, was found yesterday by the side of a road near the town of Sabana de Torres, 195 miles northeast of Bogota, police said. He had been shot four times.
Leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries are active in the area. Both groups have killed journalists in the past.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement yesterday condemning the death.
‘‘We are saddened by the death of our colleague,’’ said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. ‘‘We urge Colombian authorities to do everything they can to establish who killed Mario Prada Diaz and to bring those responsible to justice.’’
Colombia is considered one of the most dangerous places on earth for journalists.