Television journalist shot dead in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP): A Honduran journalist was shot to death on Thursday night in the town of Danli, east of the capital Tegucigalpa, despite police protection he was receiving after being attacked in May.

Francisco Ramirez, 39, worked for Canal 24 television in Danli and for the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Ramirez “was abducted by individuals traveling in several vehicles and was the target of several gunshots,” police commissioner Lisandro Garcia said.

A police officer traveling with Ramirez was also wounded in the attack.

Garcia initially blamed a personal vendetta for the killing of Ramirez.

But the director of the Committee for Freedom of Expression in Honduras, Amada Ponce, told AFP that the assassination order came from inside a Honduran prison and in reprisal for Ramirez’s work.

“This is a murder linked to his work as a journalist,” she said. “He had already suffered an attack on May 3 for his coverage and investigation of criminal activities that had led people to prison.”

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which condemned the murder, called on Honduras to “strengthen the protection of those who exercise freedom of expression” and demanded a swift investigation.

Ramirez is the second journalist in Honduras killed since the beginning of 2023. The nation is ranked as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists by several press freedom organizations.

Since 2001, some 100 journalists have been killed in Honduras, which is plagued by criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking.