Wilfred Iván Ojeda
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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 Aragua State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is located in the north-central region of Venezuela. It has plains, jungles and Caribbean beaches. The most popular beaches are Cata and Choroni. It has Venezuela's first national par ...
,
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. 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 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
.


Career

Wilfred Ojeda wrote a regular column, called ''Dimensión Crítica'' () 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 (, 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 during Venezuela's first democ ...
in Venezuela. He was involved with the Regional Legislative Assembly under President
Jaime Lusinchi Jaime Ramón Lusinchi (27 May 1924 – 21 May 2014) was the president of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the external debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corrupt ...
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 (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
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 language, Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des ...
(IACHR) of the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...
(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, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
. Many media outlets had been shut down and others have been restricted leading up to the parliamentary elections. According to the
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
, the Chávez government had used
prior restraint Prior restraint (also referred to as prior censorship or pre-publication censorship) is censorship imposed, usually by a government or institution, on expression, that prohibits particular instances of expression. It is in contrast to censorship ...
, 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.


See also

*
List of journalists killed in Venezuela The following is a list of journalists killed in Venezuela while reporting or on account of their journalism. List According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 31 journalists have been killed in Venezuela since 1992, eight of them after ...


References


External links

* (in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ojeda, Wilfred Ivan 1955 births 2011 deaths Democratic Action (Venezuela) politicians Assassinated Venezuelan journalists Journalists killed in Venezuela