Killings of journalists go unsolved in Honduras

Source: Associated Press

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – The second assault on a Honduran journalist in less than a week comes with the usual measure of doubt over whether it was a personal attack, robbery or a way to silence a public critic in one of the worst countries for press freedom in the hemisphere.

No one has yet been arrested in the May 19 killing of Honduran TV station owner Luis Mendoza. Five men have been detained in connection with Monday's shooting of newspaper manager Manuel Acosta, though none has yet been charged. It is a rare case in which the victim survived: Acosta managed to drive home after being shot six times.

Despite the government's repeated assurances it is looking into the killings, press groups cite "a systematic failure" of law enforcement to solve all but two of 13 journalist killings over the past 18 months as well as many more non-lethal attacks.

Mendoza's case is in some ways typical in a country where reporting isn't very lucrative and many journalists have other jobs or business interests. In addition to owning the Channel 24 TV station, he had coffee, real estate and farming interests.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110525/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_honduras_journalists_killed

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