Gunmen shot and killed two journalists as they walked in a park in southern Guatemala, the editor of Prensa Libre newspaper said Tuesday.
Danilo Lopez, the local correspondent for Prensa Libre, and Federico Salazar, of Radio Nuevo Mundo, were killed Tuesday in a park in Mazatenango municipality, said Miguel Angel Mendez Zetina, Prensa Libre’s editor.
Mendez said Lopez had worked at the paper for more than a decade and recently filed a complaint against Jose Linares Rojas, the mayor of San Lorenzo, for making death threats against him. Lopez had written stories about the lack of transparency surrounding public funds in Linares’ administration, the editor added.
“Two mayors from Mazatenango municipality had threatened him for his stories,” Mendez said. “Danilo was a very ethical reporter, very transparent and he was very good at accounting for public funds and how this impacted communities.”
Marvin Robledo, director of Radio Nuevo Mundo, said Salazar had not mentioned any problems or threats and was not working on anything special when he was killed.
“We’re going to await the investigations, we don’t know the motive,” Robledo said. “What we ask is that the authorities investigate and find those responsible and apply the law.”
Local volunteer firefighters said a third man was taken to a hospital in serious condition.
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