Wilfred Iván Ojeda Peralta (1955 – 17 May 2011) was a Venezuelan journalist and opposition politician. Ojeda wrote a column for '' El Clarín'' in La Victoria, Aragua,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. He regularly challenged the government through his column. He was murdered and his body was found on 17 May 2011. He is one of eight journalists who have been killed for their work in Venezuela since 2002, according to the database of the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...

Career

Wilfred Ojeda wrote a regular column, called ''Dimensión Crítica'' ( en, Critical Dimension) for ''El Clarin'' in Venezuela for 22 years, in which he was often critical of the local government. He was also a leader in the opposition party

Acción Democrática Democratic Action ( es, Acción Democrática, AD) is a Venezuelan social democratic and centre-left political party established in 1941. The party played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, leading the government durin ...

in Venezuela. He was involved with the Regional Legislative Assembly under President Jaime Lusinchi and a political secretary in the Ribas Municipality. Wilfred Ojeda's column often criticized Venezuela and the local government.

Death

Wilfred Ojeda disappeared on 16 May 2011 at the age of 56. His family last saw him when he left home in the morning. His daughter spoke to him by phone later in the day, which was his last contact with his family. He left to sell garlic, which he sold to support his family. Ojeda had asked his daughter to save him some food for when he returned home later in the evening. Ojeda's family suspected that something was wrong when his cell phone was out of range. Around 3:30 a.m. the family made a trip to local hospitals and the police station. They searched and finally, at 6:00 a.m., they were informed that his vehicle was found in a nearby town. Ojeda's body was found 15 miles away from where his vehicle was located. None of his belongings appeared to be missing. Ojeda, who was found shot in the head, was found with his arms bound, his head hooded and his mouth gagged with tape. Police found traces of blood inside his truck. It was suspected that the murder was a

contract killing Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

through a crime organization. His relatives had no knowledge of any enemies or death threats. Investigators argued that Ojeda was allegedly contractually killed by two brothers because of a debt and the police stated his murder was not connected with his writings. However, the

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'', ...

(IACHR) of the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

(OAS) urged officials not to rule out the possibility that his killing had another motive.

Impact

The media in Venezuela had recently been under pressure from different sources, including President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

. Many media outlets had been shut down and others have been restricted leading up to the parliamentary elections. According to the

, the Chávez government had used prior restraint, punitive media regulations, revocation of broadcasting licenses, suspension of journalists, arrests and even buying media organizations.Committee to Protect Journalists. "Attacks on the Press 2010: Venezuela." February 15, 2011. Retrieved 5 December 201
CPJ
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Personal life

Wilfred Ojeda is survived by his wife, Milagros Manzano, and his two children.

References

External links