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Edificio de un medio de comunicación en Bogotá al anochecer, con cordón policial y periodistas tras la cinta de seguridad
Cordón policial frente a un edificio de medios en Bogotá tras la alerta de seguridad. Imagen generada.

Bogota Calls Urgent Intelligence Meeting Over Threats Against Media

Bogota's Mayor's Office requested on November 7 the immediate convening of the CI3 after a CTI alert about possible attacks against media outlets.

--- The context --- Bogota's Mayor's Office requested the immediate convening of the Integrated Information and Intelligence Center (CI3) after receiving an alert about possible attacks against media outlets in the capital. The decision was announced on Saturday, November 7, after the Attorney General's Office, through the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI), shared security information with the district government and with several news companies. The warning reached a television channel and a radio station that had been told of possible violent actions against their facilities and against other media outlets. When a newsroom must evacuate its staff, the risk goes beyond one company and touches the public's right to receive verified and timely information. --- The facts --- The mayor, through the District Security Secretariat, asked intelligence and security agencies to meet immediately to examine the alert shared by the CTI. The district administration also confirmed that Bogota's Police adopted preventive actions related to the information received, although it gave no details about the procedures implemented or the places where they were carried out. During the afternoon of Saturday, November 7, workers at a television channel were evacuated from the company's main headquarters, located in northern Bogota. Staff left the building after a warning about the possible presence of an explosive device on the premises, and the company confirmed that authorities had informed it of the intention of illegal groups to attack the outlet. A radio station also reported the risk of a possible attack against its company and other media outlets. The station said it had received the information from authorities in recent hours and had activated prevention protocols in coordination with the competent institutions, with measures aimed at protecting its journalists, collaborators and visitors. --- The positions --- The Inspector General of the Nation, Gregorio Eljach, rejected the possible intentions of illegal groups to attack the television channel. He held that intimidation cannot prevent the exercise of journalism and asked authorities to investigate what happened and guarantee the safety of the channel's workers. The Ombudswoman, Iris Marin, expressed her solidarity with the channel's workers and asked authorities to clarify the information about the possible threats. She called for establishing the truthfulness of the warning and adopting the necessary protection measures, and later referred to the radio station as well, saying the threats extended further and made the situation more serious. --- What remains unknown --- The Mayor's Office did not specify whether the Police preventive actions were directed exclusively at the headquarters of the outlets mentioned or whether they covered other points in the city. No details were released about the content of the information delivered by the CTI, the identity of those possibly responsible, or the circumstances in which the threat became known. --- Unanswered questions --- Which illegal groups would be behind the intention to attack media outlets, according to the information shared by authorities? What concrete preventive measures did Bogota's Police adopt, and in which places in the city were they applied? Does the alert cover other outlets besides the television channel and the radio station that already activated their protocols? When will the CI3 report the results of its analysis of the warning received on November 7? --- EPM analysis --- The district reaction combined an immediate intelligence convening with preventive measures whose scope was not disclosed. That combination protects in the short term, but it leaves open the need to explain to the public what is known and what is being done, without compromising the ongoing investigation. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the alert made public on November 7 must be read as a test of the state's duty to protect journalism before harm occurs, not after. Evacuating a newsroom and activating prevention protocols were necessary steps, yet the public still does not know the real scope of the threat or the concrete measures in place. Keeping the media working requires a fast investigation, effective protection and honest communication about what is known. Without those three elements, intimidation achieves part of its purpose even if no explosive device is ever found inside any building in the capital.
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