Nahúm Elí Palacios Arteaga Explained

Nahúm Elí Palacios Arteaga
Death Date:March 14, 2010

Nahúm Elí Palacios Arteaga (died March 14, 2010) was a Honduran journalist and reporter. Palacios was the news director for the Canal 5 television network in Aguán and the host of a news program on Radio Tocoa within the Colón Department along the Caribbean coast.[1] [2]

Biography

An investigative reporter, Palacios focused on local politics, drug trafficking and violence in Honduras.[2] He was also known for reporting on an ongoing conflict between landowners and peasant farmers in the northern Aguán region of the country.[2] Palacios reportedly received threats from members of the Honduran military in June 2009 for critical coverage of the 2009 Honduran coup d'état which ousted former President Manuel Zelaya.[2] He also received anonymous death threats from criminal organizations operating in the country.[2] The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urged the government to specifically protect Palacios in July 2009.[2]

Assassination

Palacios was shot and killed while driving home at approximately 10:30 pm on March 14, 2010.[3] Palacios was driving in the northern city of Tocoa when two cars came alongside his car and fired at his vehicle with AK-47 assault rifles. Palacios, who was shot several times, died at the scene of the attack.[2] The car in which Palacios was travelling received 42 bullet holes in the attack.[3] A woman in his car was treated for injuries at a local hospital, while a cameraman escaped the attack unharmed. Palacios was 36 years old when he died.[3]

Palacios was one of five journalists to be killed in Honduras in March 2010.[4]

Reaction

Palacios's killing triggered protests by dozens of journalists on March 15, 2010, in the city of San Pedro Sula.[3] The journalists demanded an end to violence against colleagues in the country.[3]

Notes and References

  1. News: Roy. Greenslade. Journalists murdered in Mexico and Honduras . The Guardian. 2010-03-22 . 2010-04-10.
  2. News: Third Honduran journalist gunned down in two weeks . Committee to Protect Journalists. 2010-03-16 . 2010-04-10.
  3. News: Honduras: Killing of TV journalist spawns protest. Associated Press. 2010-03-15. 2010-04-10. https://archive.today/20240524214415/https://www.webcitation.org/5ot9GCh7W?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j4pN90I_KYuYxWbB76B5n0VU4L_QD9EFAEF00. 2024-05-24. dead.
  4. News: Alex. Renderos. In Honduras, journalist slayings raise alarm . Los Angeles Times. 2010-03-31 . 2010-04-05.