After almost a day of arresting NTN24 journalists in Venezuela, Maduro’s regime has not indicated their whereabouts

The journalists Luis Gonzalo Pérez and Rafael Hernandez, news channel employees NTN24, They remain kidnapped since this Wednesday, when they were in the border state of Apure, where Venezuelan soldiers have been fighting since March 21 with FARC dissidents.

His relatives are deeply concerned about the fate of the communicators since they have not heard from them since yesterday afternoon, nearly 24 hours.

The media in which they work reported that Hernández and Pérez “covered the conflict in Apure” when “they were retained», With two activists from FundaRedes, by officials of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB, militarized police).

At around 4:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT) “they were told they would release them by returning the recording material”, but from that moment the TV channel lost communication, as explained NTN24. It is for this reason that anxiety grows over the hours.

In a brief dialogue with Infobae, Susana rojas, mother of Luis Gonzalo Pérez, said at 9:34 am Venezuela time (1334 GMT): “At the moment we have no information“. That is to say hasn’t known anything for more than 17 hours of his son.

As, Rosalí Hernandez, the sister of Rafael Hernández, the other missing journalist, also confirmed to this media that she had no news. “We are still waiting for information from the inhabitants of Apure but there is no electricityHe confined himself to expressing.

For his part, the director of FundaRedes, Javier Tarazona, expressed concern for the two journalists, as well as for activists in his organization, whom he identified as Juan Carlos Salazar and Diogenes Tirado. As he explained, they were in the town of La Victoria, in the state of Apure, the epicenter of the fighting.

He also noted that the four men had been detained, after which they “communicated” and “indicated that after examining the audiovisual material stored on their cell phones, they would be returned to them and they could continue with their documentation duties. and communication “. However, 17 hours after the event, there is still no news from these people.

“We demand that the Venezuelan state guarantee life and integrity”

“We warn that we have lost communication with them. From that moment, We do not know in what state they are or where, we demand that the Venezuelan state guarantee the life and integrity of these Venezuelans who, doing their job, are now in missing status», Underlined Tarazona.

The fighting between the military and FARC dissidents, which no official or military source has identified despite having published photographs showing the initials of this former guerrilla, began on March 21 and at least four soldiers died.

However, the information provided by the military or members of the Nicolás Maduro regime was very scarce and they did not confirm how many members of this armed group died, although they reported six “neutralized”, a word used ambiguously to refer to the two dead. and for arrested.

Following the clashes, more than 6,000 locals crossed the Arauca River, which marks the border between Venezuela and Colombia, and they fled to the neighboring country.

Apex demanded the release of journalists

Venezuelan Foreign Press Association (Apex) condemned the detention of journalists Luis Gonzalo Pérez and Rafael Hernández while covering the conflict between armed groups in the town of La Victoria, in the state of Apure, on the border with Colombia.

“Apex demands the immediate release of the two journalists, who have already been detained and held incommunicado for more than 20 hours, without knowing the reason or the place of his arrest, nor which security organ is responsible ”, specified the association in a press release.

And he added: “We remind the state security organs that the information work of the national and international media it is not a crime that should be punishedOn the contrary, it constitutes a service to the population in times of uncertainty and worry, as happens when there is an armed conflict and thousands of Venezuelans are forced to flee the country to Colombia for protection.

Finally, he said they hope “to hear from their colleagues soon and that all their fundamental rights are being respected.”

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