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Alert

Bomb attack and threats against newspaper

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 10 March 2006 CPJ press release:

VENEZUELA: Bomb attack and threats against newspaper

New York, March 10, 2006 - The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a bomb attack on a Venezuelan newspaper and a threat against its editor. Unidentified assailants threw three homemade explosives on Wednesday at the offices of the daily La Región in Los Teques, southwest of Caracas. No one was injured in the attack, which caused minor damage.

The attackers left behind pamphlets threatening La Región's editor Romel Flores and several Venezuelan journalists, the paper's news director Armando De Fa told CPJ. The pamphlets said the journalists should be tried and sentenced to death.

De Fa said the attack could be related to the paper's reporting on government corruption but he could not link it to a specific story. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the local press said. The authorities have launched an investigation, De Fa said.

"We condemn the attack against La Región," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. "We urge Venezuelan authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice."

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom around the world.