Honduran journalist Edwin Josué Andino, who worked as a producer for the television channel The Tribune (LTV), was assassinated on Monday by a group of unknown persons in Tegucigalpa.
Neither the journalist nor his father, also murdered, had received threats before being forcibly removed from their home by an armed group wearing the uniforms of the Honduran National Police, according to family and employer reports.
The body of Andino, 23, was found in his underwear in an artery in Colonia Villafranca de Comayagüey. He had “a shot in the face”, as revealed by local authorities.
“The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) condemned and lamented the recent murder of a journalist in Honduras. The organization called on the authorities to investigate to find out if the murder of Edwin Josué Andino was linked to his professional work,” the IAPA said in a statement.
IAPA President Jorge Canahuati expressed “solidarity with the families of the victims and our Honduran comrades.” Canahuati, from Grupo Opsa, from Honduras, called on his country’s authorities to “deepen the investigations and not rule out Andino’s journalistic work to find out if the murder was related to his profession.”
Carlos Jornet, president of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information and editor of The Voice of the Interior of Argentinasaid: “We draw attention to the severe violence we are seeing against journalists this year in the Americas, where another 34 journalists have been killed.”
IAPA officials also highlighted the importance of strengthening and allocating the necessary resources so that the system for the protection and security of journalists in Honduras can effectively fulfill its mission of guaranteeing the lives of journalists.
So far this year, three journalists have been murdered in Honduras, according to IAPA records.
Ricardo Ávila and Pablo Hernández Rivera were also killed this year in Honduras.
Ávila, a journalist and cameraman for the Metro channel and the Choluteca radio station, was attacked on May 25. He was shot in the head by unknown assailants as he was riding his motorcycle to work and he died four days later.
Hernández Rivera, director and journalist of the community radio Tenán 94.1 FM, “The Lenca Indigenous Voice“, was assassinated on January 9 in San Marcos de Caiquín, department of Lempira.
The IAPA will discuss the safety of journalists at its General Assembly to be held from October 27 to 30 in Madrid, Spain. In 2022, 35 communicators have already been murdered in the American continent.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and turn on notifications, or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
