Picture: File Photo
Bogotá: A 25-year-old Colombian journalist was found dead on Friday in a northwestern region controlled by guerrillas and drug traffickers, a press freedom group said, calling it a murder.
Mateo Perez had been missing since Tuesday, when he went to report on violence in a rural area about five hours north of Medellin in the run-up to May 31 elections.
"We regret and condemn the murder of Mateo Perez Rueda," the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) wrote on X.
Dissident members of the defunct guerrilla group FARC, who opposed a 2016 peace deal with the state, operate in the area where Perez's body was found.
Drug traffickers from Colombia's biggest cartel, the Gulf Clan, are also present in the region.
FLIP said that Perez, who ran the online news outlet El Confidente de Yarumal, was a "vital voice for the local community."
His work focused mainly on crime, security, politics and corruption.
"For this reason, Mateo faced legal pressure for his investigations into illicit economies linked to armed groups," it said.
The area where his body was found is a "disputed zone," fought over by FARC dissidents and the Gulf Clan, according to FLIP.
Left-wing President Gustavo Petro halted peace negotiations with the FARC dissident faction in question, which is led by a rebel with the alias Calarca, on April 21.
The government however remains in talks with the Gulf Clan, which is considered a terrorist group by the United States.
Colombia has experienced a surge in guerrilla attacks in the run-up to this month's election.
At least 170 journalists have been killed in the country since 1977, according to FLIP.
