A Colombian journalist was found dead on Friday night in the country's northwestern region, an area plagued by guerrillas, drug traffickers, and illegal gold miners, President Gustavo Petro said.

The body of 25-year-old Mateo Perez was found in an area where members of the guerrilla group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and drug traffickers linked to the the Gulf Clan , operate.

Perez had been missing since Tuesday, when he was working in a rural area of the mountainous Antioquia department, about five hours north of the regional capital, Medellin.

President Petro blamed Perez's killing on guerrilla leader Jhon Edison Chala Torrejano in a post on X, accusing him of seeking control over illicit gold mining in the region.

"The humanitarian commission of the Red Cross and the ombudsman's office, with the support of the government, managed to enter the area and locate the body," Petro said in the post.

"The National Police has had orders for several weeks to strengthen its presence in this…