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For Caballero, who had made enemies on all sides during her coverage
of Colombia's 35-year civil war, the threat was very real. She had received
other death threats because of her work, but none had come to her home.
Also, several journalists have been killed recently -- four were killed
in 1998 and three were murdered in the last three months.
Caballero, two-time winner of the Colombian equivalent of the Pulitzer
Prize, has investigated the Colombian drug cartels, the infiltration
of drug money and human rights abuses. Her 1997 interview with Carlos
Castaño, leader of Colombia's so-called right wing death squads,
revealed that Castaño was ready for peace talks.
Caballero argues that Colombia's best hope for peace is a free press
that can provide a forum for dialogue and discussion.
"María Cristina is a very good example of the kind of journalist
who can make a vital contribution to the Colombian peace process,"
said Marylene Smeets, Americas program coordinator for the Committee
to Protect Journalists.
Colombian president Andres Pastrana congratulated Caballero on the
Press Freedom award, writing, "Confronting danger without surrendering
and even exposing your life, you have shown the world the moral power
of journalism."
Now Caballero is on leave from her job as investigative editor for
the weekly news magazine Semana and is writing a book about the Colombian
conflict. She is based at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press,
Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School
of Government.
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