2023-04-18 20:48:31
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RFI joins the “Forbidden Stories” International Investigation Consortium to resume the work of Rafael Moreno, a Colombian journalist murdered six months ago in circumstances that are still unclear. The reporter denounced the activities of the mining company Serro Matoso SA, which had an environmental impact on indigenous communities.
On October 16, 2022, a man was shot dead in his restaurant in Montelíbano, a city in the department of Córdoba, in northern Colombia. This was the latest murder in a long series in a region marked by violence by armed groups. But on this day, the victim was an investigative journalist known for his reporting.
Rafael Moreno, 37 years old, had a Facebook page for six years, where he revealed numerous scandals involving the political and economic elites of his region. Using his experience as a local political activist, he practiced engaged journalism, demanding explanations from local and national governments.
Doubtful public contracts, fraudulent mining, violations of the law by powerful private companies, dominance of criminal groups: Moreno has not backed down from any issue, despite the numerous threats he has suffered in recent years.
“I still see him secretly making this video of the Cerro Matoso nickel mine. He took all the risks for his work,” recalls his friend Enyer Nieves Pinto, a human rights activist.
Project Rafael
In the south of Córdoba, the climate of violence and impunity prevents the journalist’s witnesses from coming forward to investigators.
“Since Rafa was killed, it’s as if everyone has become honest in Córdoba, because no one dares to speak out and denounce”, laments Rafael’s cousin, Yamir Pico, also a journalist, who ended his investigations.
In the weeks before the murder, Rafael Moreno felt more in danger than usual and began to question the personal protection scheme that accompanied him, which failed on the day of his death.
The journalist had joined the “SafeBox” network of the Forbidden Stories consortium to protect his numerous documents and emails. The network allows investigations not to disappear, and tries to dissuade crimes against journalists, “sending a strong message to the enemies of the press: killing the journalist will not kill the story”, says the initiative’s website.
The “Rafael Project”, aims to continue the work of the Colombian journalist. Six months after the murder, 30 journalists coordinated by Forbidden Stories resumed their investigations into massive corruption in the department of Córdoba, revealing a system of favoritism in the allocation of public contracts, involving millions of euros.
In addition to RFI, the newspapers also form part of the consortium. The country, Le Monde, The Guardian, Amazônia Real e Newspaperbetween others.
Mining
A former miner, Moreno was especially sensitive to the situation of workers and communities affected by the activity of large mining groups located in the region.
In his articles, he denounced the damage caused by the continent’s main open pit mine, Cerro Matoso SAd, a subsidiary of the mining and metals company based in Perth, Australia, South32. In 2017, Colombian justice subpoenaed the group to limit its impact, without results.
Ecosystems continue to be contaminated by chemical waste emanating from the mine, and diseases attributed to the activities of Cerro Matoso SA are increasing. As for the measures that the group must take to assess the impact of its activities on the environment, its implementation is considered incomplete and opaque by the communities.
In addition, the region suffers from a lack of infrastructure, mainly hospitals, and essential services, such as drinking water. The absent State gave way to the “mining locomotive”, leaving the territory and populations at the mercy of armed groups.
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