Reporters Without Borders today expressed revulsion at the murder of Carlos Salgado, a satirical journalist on Radio Cadena Voces (RCV), who was shot dead yesterday in Tegucigalpa.
Several members of staff at the radio, which was highly critical of the government, had recently been threatened.
“The murder of Carlos Salgado confirms the deterioration in press freedom in Honduras (87th in Reporters Without Borders world press freedom rankings). The worsening and terrible climate between the government of Manuel Zelaya and the media unfortunately contributes to this situation,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said.
“We expect the authorities, whom we can’t hold directly responsible for the journalist’s death, to carry out a prompt investigation into the facts. We also call on them to show greater tolerance of media criticism,” the organisation added
Carlos Salgado, nicknamed “Frijol el terrible”(black bean the terrible), which was also the name of his comedy and news programme, was ambushed by two gunmen in a truck who fired seven shots at him as he left the studios of RCV and was about to cross a road. He was killed instantly.
Director of RCV, Dagoberto Rodríguez said the highly popular presenter had not apparently received any death threats. ”We cannot point to who was responsible, but it should not be forgotten that there is a conflictual relationship between Radio Cadena Voces and the government,” he said. He told Reporters Without Borders that the attack was clearly aimed at the radio.
Some of the radio’s journalists told the organisation that they had been intimidated and received death threats. The journalist Edgardo Escoto received a threatening call on his mobile phone a month ago while he was covering a funeral. “If you carry on pissing us off we will bury you like this,” an unknown voice told him.
The president told the radio’s correspondent at the presidency, Carolina Torres, in September that he would no longer give her interviews. “You spend your time criticising me,” he said. “If I was Hugo Chávez, I would have had this radio shut down a long time ago.”
The government recently accused media owners of blackmail to obtain public favours, but without giving any details about the nature of the “blackmail”. The media has criticised Manuel Zelaya’s frequents trips and his attempts to control the press. The press has also exposed a number of cases of corruption, which led to a murder attempt and a suspension of his programme against Geovanny García, journalist on Canal 13 television on 7 September.
