Venezuelan Reporter received the 2013 Latin American Award on Drug-related Journalism

“Los testigos de la coca” (in English, ¨The Coca Witnesses¨) was the title of the journalistic research conducted by Juan José Faría, a Venezuelan reporter of La Verdad newspaper, which was awarded the third prize at the 2013 Latin American Award on Drug-related Journalism.

(IPYS Venezuela).- “Los testigos de la coca” (in English, ¨The Coca Witnesses¨) was the title of the journalistic research conducted by Juan José Faría, a Venezuelan reporter of La Verdad newspaper, which was awarded the third prize at the 2013 Latin American Award on Drug-related Journalism. The call for this award was fostered by the Asociación Civil para el Estudio y Atención de Problemas Relacionados con las Drogas (in English, the Civil Association for the Study and Care of Drug-related Problems), based in Argentina.

Since 2010, Juan José Faría follows up on the source of events at La Verdad, a private newspaper based in Maracaibo, Zulia state. He is also a correspondent in that state for the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad de Venezuela (IPYS Venezuela), an organization devoted to promoting and defending freedom of expression, the access to public information and investigative journalism.

In his journalistic investigation, Faría compiled 3 interviews which were published in the local newspaper he works for in April 2013. “The Narco route South of the Lake”; ” Drugs against the barí” and “Military men sank Saúl Abocbaicana” were the names of the interviews which give an account of the bi-national drug trafficking route which runs between Colombia and Venezuela.  His papers reveal irregularities and alleged links with officials of both nations in the contraband, which also affect the indigenous populations inhabiting frontier areas of Zulia state.

“This is a report with political impact due to the topic it broaches and the diversity of sources he used since, when drug-related issues are covered, seldom is the effect on the indigenous people tackled and underscored”, the jury considered.

This recognition was also given –actually, the first prize- to a research paper entitled “Una luz, una oscuridad (Parte 1 y 2)”, (in English, ¨One Light, One Darkness (Parts 1 and 2), by Diego Queijo de Azevedo, published by Diario Popular of Brazil. The second place was granted to an interview entitled “Tragones de cocaína” (in English, ¨Cocaine Guzzlers¨), presented by Jhenny Nava Boza and Leslie La Fuente López, of Bolivia.

The Latin American Award on Drug-related Journalism was evaluated by a jury comprised by Marcela Turati (Mexico), Juana Marulanda (Colombia) and Osvaldo Baigorria (Argentina). This contest, which is held each year, counted with the participation of close to 50 journalistic papers.

The awards shall be handed out within the framework of the 11th National Conference on Drug-related Policies to be held in Argentina on August 29 and 30, 2013. For more information on this contest, please visit http://conferenciadrogas2013.wordpress.com/.