BOGOTA, March 16 (Reuters) - One of Colombia's top national radio presenters has fled the country after getting death threats from a subversive group, Caracol Radio said on Friday. The network said Dario Arizmendi, who presents the morning program "Seis AM Hoy por Hoy" and is one of the country's most respected radio journalists, had left Colombia but would keep broadcasting from overseas. "The reason was absolutely trustworthy information indicating that a subversive group planned an attempt against his life," Caracol said in a statement. It did not identify which of Colombia's illegal armed groups had made the threats. Violence has declined since President Alvaro Uribe began his U.S.-backed campaign to crack down on left-wing rebels and rightist paramilitary gangs who both use the cocaine trade to finance Latin America's longest-running insurgency. But Colombia's conflict and huge narcotics trade have made it one of the most dangerous places for journalists. Since 1992, 39 journalists have been killed, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Uribe has pushed back the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the largest rebel group, and negotiated the disarming of more than 31,000 paramilitary fighters who once battled the rebels. But the FARC is still fighting and renegade paramilitaries have kept their criminal networks intact. Both groups have used threats and kidnapping for political leverage and have threatened journalists in the past.
