Colombia’s Petro under fire after calling female journalists ‘mafia puppets’

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

Without any irony, Petro made this statement during the installation 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 leftist president, has often been angry at media criticism, accusing it of colluding with armed groups, business magnates 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.

Petro, then a member of parliament, supported these demonstrations.

It is unclear why he specifically targeted female reporters.

Criticism came quickly, with Petro attempting to explain that he was talking about “female journalists from the establishment… hired by dark forces,” in a statement that did little to quell the outrage.

Marin later said that there is “no room for stigmatization” of female journalists in Colombia.

“Nothing justifies it.”

Reporters Without Borders describes Colombia as “one of the most dangerous countries on the continent for journalists”, with two killings so far this year.

According to the FLIP Press Freedom Foundation, Petro’s statements were used as the basis for online content “that is violent or reinforces gender stereotypes.”

The foundation has reported 171 cases of threats and attacks, the exact nature of which was not specified, against female reporters since last year.