Colombian President Petro criticized for calling female journalists ‘mafia puppets’

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is facing criticism from press freedom groups after comments were made about female reporters, calling them “puppets of the mafia” in one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in South America.

Without any irony, Petro made this statement during the inauguration on August 30 of Iris Marin, the new ombudsman for human rights in Colombia. She was the first woman to hold this position.

Petro, the South American country’s first left-wing president, is often angry at criticism from the media, accusing it of colluding with armed groups, tycoons and other powerful figures.

Some say he has gone too far in a country where dozens of reports of threats and attacks of various kinds against female journalists are made every year.

In his speech, Petro spoke out against “the (female) journalists of power, the ‘puppets of the mafia’”, who he said had pilloried the 2019-2021 protests against the right-wing government that preceded him.