Overview
- Mexican journalist Julián Mazoy and Colombian reporter Jeff Martínez were reported missing after trying to enter Venezuela via the Tienditas crossing on January 7 and later confirmed they were released.
- Mazoy said they were held incommunicado for 17 hours for being journalists; in a subsequent interview, both described roughly 14 hours in custody and questioning by Venezuela’s SEBIN intelligence service.
- Venezuela’s National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) documented at least six detentions and four deportations of journalists at the Colombia–Venezuela border between January 5 and 7.
- SNTP has demanded information on detained reporters and guarantees for press work as it tracks a spate of enforcement actions at border posts and in the capital.
- Earlier reports varied on whether Mazoy was deported and on the length of the detention, reflecting inconsistencies in initial public accounts.