14ymedio, Havana, 8 October 2021 — Cuban Waldo Fernández is one of the four journalists who will participate in the IV edition of the Temporary Reception Program for Latin American Journalists, along with the Colombian Óscar Parra, the Mexican Teresa Montaño and a Nicaraguan who does not want to publicize her name for safety reasons.
The program was created by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Spain section, for professionals at risk to move from their hostile environments and settle in Madrid for three months, where they will receive psychological support and training. For this, they have the collaboration of the City Council of the Spanish capital, headed by Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, of the Popular Party.
During their stay in Spain, the four reporters will not only attend courses, but will also share, in the media and universities, their experiences in their countries, where they are harassed or threatened, either by the State or by criminal groups.
Waldo Fernández is the editor of the independent newspaper Diario de Cuba, and for this reason he has suffered threats from State Security.
María Teresa Montaño, meanwhile, was fired from her job after publishing corruption schemes in the state of Mexico (bordering Mexico City), such as the secret award of pensions to former governors.
As for Óscar Javier Parra, he directs the journalistic portal Rutas del Conflicto, which has received important awards, such as the Data Journalism Award, in 2017. He has open judicial processes and receives threats from the Army due to his coverage of the massacres committed in Colombia.
The four journalists were selected from among fifty candidates, because of “their high professional profile and the severity of the threats to their security,” according to RSF.
This program, which will run from this October to the end of December, is “the most eloquent incarnation of what freedom of the press means and an example of the all too often difficult conditions in which many of our colleagues in Latin America must carry out their search for the truth,” said the president of the Spanish section of RSF, Alfonso Armada, during his presentation.
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