20 radio stations created under the 2016 Peace Agreement halt their programming and broadcast music instead.
On Wednesday, outlet El Armadillo reported that Colombian President Abelardo De la Espriella ordered the Public Media System (Inravision) to shut down the programming of the “Peace Stations” radio stations, many of which are located in municipalities most affected by the armed conflict.
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“Inravision ordered the directors of 20 stations to stop all their programming. Since Tuesday, music has been broadcast instead of the programs produced at those stations, which were created under the 2016 Peace Agreement,” journalist Juan Ortiz reported.
“The decision also includes the 11 decentralized stations that make up the National Radio system, which has more than 70 frequencies throughout the country,” he added, noting that tensions between Inravision manager Angela Mora and journalists began the previous week and were framed by coverage of the Aug. 10 earthquake.
“We decided to do what we are supposed to do: journalism. We took a neutral position and dedicated ourselves to reporting,” a Inravision worker told El Armadillo.
“The manager put Diego Fajardo, who was not even under contract, to act as a police officer to monitor what should go on the air. He began giving us orders and interfering in editorial meetings.”
#ElCalentao | El presidente electo, Abelardo de la Espriella, descartó al Sistema Nacional de Medios Públicos para producir señal oficial de la posesión, pese a la disposición de Inravisión de transmitirlo.
"Desconozco los motivos, sería la primera vez en la historia que una… pic.twitter.com/JHT5s6uG6o
— RTVC Noticias (@RTVCnoticias) August 4, 2026
The text reads, “President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella has ruled out the National System of Public Media as the broadcaster of his inauguration, despite Inravisión’s willingness to transmit it. ‘I don’t know the reasons; it would be the first time in history that a presidential campaign has told the National System of Public Media not to broadcast the presidential inauguration,’ Inravision Manager Hollman Morris said regarding the decision by Abelardo de la Espriella’s presidential campaign not to allow the National System of Public Media to broadcast the inauguration on Friday, August 7.”
One of the points of friction with the authorities appointed by De La Espriella administration was directly related to the silencing of the voices of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities affected by the earthquake in Valle del Cauca.
On Aug. 16, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies published a document in which it justified changes to the Peace Stations as part of a process to put an end to the “propaganda apparatus in the Public Media System.”
As part of that objective, the far-right government seeks to implement measures such as ending the news and opinion programming block and immediately reviewing Inravision’s content, contracts, and agreements.
The Peace Stations were created to comply with point 6.5 of the Peace Agreement signed in 2016 by the Colombian state and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
“It was there that the creation of 20 stations for coexistence and reconciliation was defined, along with the rules for the operation of those spaces in subsequent years,” Ortiz recalled, highlighting that the broadcasts included giving a voice to the political party that emerged from the guerrilla group’s demobilization.
“Until now, even the administration of Ivan Duque and later the administration of Gustavo Petro had respected the stations. Of course, there was an editorial line in the media, but we never received specific instructions to follow that editorial line, and we always opened the microphones to everyone regardless of their political position,” an Inravision worker told El Armadillo.
Besides reporting on peace-building initiatives and the implementation of the 2016 agreement, the Peace Stations allocated 90% of their programming to reporting on the needs of the territories where they were located. For example, the Peace Station in Antoquia, whose frequency reaches 16 municipalities, included programs focused on the lives and work of the rural population. It also dedicated airtime to broadcasting the music and culture of Indigenous peoples.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: El Armadilo
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