Press groups in Honduras have called for an international investigation into the murders of journalists in Honduras following the killing of Fausto Elio Hernandez Arteaga, of Radio Alegre de Colon. Arteaga, 54, was killed by a man with a machete who left the scene without taking any of his belongings. In a March 12 statement, the group Doctors Without Borders noted that the killings of journalists are one part of a wave of violence that swept the country following the U.S.-backed June 2009 military coup.
DWB also questioned the lack of serious investigations: “What can be expected from the investigation when impunity endures in all the previous murders of journalists, human rights activists, and defenders of fundamental freedoms?”
Carlos Ortiz, president of the Honduran Press Association, joined in the demand, saying, “Since 2010, the association has been demanding a national and international investigation of the crimes against journalists.” Nineteen journalists have been killed since the coup.
