During this period, risks to the practice of journalism continued, especially against reporters who report on the Government administration.
The president of the College of Journalists of Honduras, Osman Reyes, denounced high degrees of intolerance of criticism in the Public Administration and said journalists are stigmatized for discrediting their work.
On January 28, journalist Luis Alonso Teruel Vega, from Pecaligüe Televisión, was murdered in Atima, Santa Bárbara. Teruel Vega was taken out of his vehicle and attacked by several men. He was taken to a health center but died minutes later.
Journalist Francisco Javier Ramírez Amador, reporter, and presenter of the Channel 24 news program, was murdered on December 21 in Danlí, El Paraíso. He had protection measures from the State, but his police escort could not prevent the attack, and he was also injured. Ramírez Amador had already survived another attack, so he was in the Protection System for Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social Communicators, and Justice Operators.
The executive director of the Association for Democracy and Human Rights (Asopodehu), Dina Meza, reported that other journalists were threatened with death.
Ninety-eight murders against journalists, which occurred in the last 20 years, remain unpunished.
In the midst of the violence, a modest effort is being made to improve the Protection Mechanism with the cooperation of international organizations.
