Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

A 32-year-old Colombian journalist and radio presenter has been shot dead while on air hosting his show.

Javier Chaguendo Cordoba was killed in Llorente in the south-western Colombian department of Narino while presenting his show on Planeta Stereo, according to the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Local media said that two armed men broke into the radio station’s studio and shot Chaguendo Cordoba without saying a word before escaping on a motorbike.

A spokesperson for the European Union in Latin America said: “A country’s development depends on its right to be informed, free of threats against the press.”

The local authorities have confirmed that they have launched an investigation in Chaguendo Cordoba’s death and the motive behind the alleged shooting.

Narino government official Mario Viteri told reporters that “the presenter returned to Llorente after a long absence”.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation said that Narino, Antioquia and Santander are the Colombian departments most affected by attacks on journalists and media figures.

According to the Foundation for Development and Peace (Fundepaz) in Narino, 20 journalists have been killed in the department this year alone.

Meanwhile, the victim’s family as said that he had not received any death threats prior to the reported shooting.

The investigation is ongoing.

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