The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is deeply concerned with the assassination of journalists in Honduras. Five journalists were killed in March alone, and none of the cases have been solved. WOLA calls for an end to the attacks. There must be a thorough investigation that brings the perpetrators to justice.
- On March 1, assailants killed Joseph Ochoa. Ochoa worked for the Canal 51 television station.
- On March 11, David Meza, a popular radio journalist, was murdered in La Ceiba.
- On March 14, Nahúm Palacios was killed in a drive-by shooting in Tocoa. Palacios was the director of a television station. Yorleny Yadira Sánchez Rivas, a doctor traveling with Palacios, died of complications resulting from the attack on March 28.
- On March 26, two journalists, Jose Bayardo and Manuel de Jesus Juarez, were murdered in Olancho. They were killed by unidentified assailants after recording a news show at Excelsior radio station.
WOLA warns that continued human rights violations and pervasive impunity will undermine the government's capacity to rebuild trust in democratic institutions and embolden perpetrators of political violence.
