TEHRAN - The Venezuelan embassy in Tehran hosted a ceremony on Wednesday to commemorate the country’s national Journalist Day.

“Venezuela commemorates Journalist Day on June 27 which marks publication of the first edition of Correo del Orinoco newspaper that was founded by Simón Bolivar on June 27, 1818,” said Sabrina Aguire, the first secretary of the embassy.

She said that being a journalist means looking for “truth, ethics and credibility”.

A journalist has a “critical mind” in order to “reason and face the challenges”, she added.

Elaborating on history of Correo del Orinoco, she said that the newspaper was established based on the slogan of “We Are Free, We Write in a Free Country and Do Not Seek to Deceive and Mislead People.”

The newspaper was published during years of “Venezuelan war of independence from the New Granada” and was established by Bolivar to “counter infiltration of Gazeta de Caracas” newspaper, she said.

Gazeta de Caracas was first published on October 24, 1808 and was issued with some interruptions by January 1822.

Aguire also said that 133 editions of the Correo del Orinoco were published in total, adding that the newspaper sought to inform the Latin American people about events related to liberal seeking wars.

Correo del Orinoco is considered the oldest sovereign newspaper on the Latin American continent which was published weekly from 1818 to 1822 in Angostura, a city on the river Orinoco. The newspaper’s name is currently exclusively used by the Correo del Orinoco (2009) newspaper produced by the government of Venezuela.

Elsewhere, Aguire attached great importance to the journalists’ role in “reporting the realities”.

(The report is prepared by Negar Asadi)