Medardo Flores

Medardo Flores (c. 1949 – September 8, 2011), a radio journalist for Radio Uno in San Pedro Sula, was murdered in an ambush near his home in Puerto Cortes, Cortés Department, Honduras. A popular radio journalist, he was a supporter of former President Manuel Zelaya Rosales and joins other journalists killed since Zelaya was overthrown in the 2009 Honduran coup d'état.[1][2][3]

Medardo Flores
Bornca. 1949
Honduras
DiedSeptember 8, 2011
Puerto Cortés, Cortés Department, Honduras
Cause of deathMurdered by gunman
NationalityHonduran
EducationSchool of Broadcasters of the Institute of Communication Science of Radio Uno
OccupationRadio journalist
Years active1 year
EmployerRadio Uno
Known forSociopolitical and cultural analysis
Political partyNational Popular Resistance Front (FNRP)

Personal

Medardo Flores, who was 62 years old when he was murdered, lived on his farm near Puerto Cortes, where according to The Tico Times, he was a farmer and rancher.[4] During the 1980s, he lived in exile because of conflicts against leftists in Honduras. He later returned, purchasing land and focusing on agriculture.[5][6]

Career

Medardo Flores was a farmer and rancher who was politically involved with grass roots political activism.

Flores was also a volunteer reporter for School of Broadcasters of the Institute of Communication Science of Radio Uno, an educational institution in San Pedro Sula, and a radio journalist for Radio UNO collective that analyzes current sociopolitical and cultural issues in the country.[3][7]

Flores was a member of Zelaya's National Popular Resistance Front, a political and social movement that former-President Manuel Zelaya Rosales of the FNRP funded, and he served as its northern regional finance manager.[2][1][8]

He was president of the Asociación de Padres de Familia del Instituto de Locución Primero de Diciembre.[9]

Death
Honduras map
Puerto Cortes
Tegucigalpa
Flores was murdered in Puerto Cortes 190 miles north of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

On September 8, 2011, Medardo Flores was shot dead when he drove between his farm and the city through the sector known as the Río Blanquito neighborhood in the community of Bijao, Puerto Cortés and into an ambush. His car was sprayed with bullets from all directions but there were at least two perpetrators in the armed attack.[3][4][6][10] He sustained 9 gunshot wounds in the attack.[9]

Context

At the time Flores was murdered, Honduras was in the process of seeking readmission into the Organization of American States, and press freedom analysts from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) thought that such civil rights violations would complicate the path set out in the Cartagena accords.[2] Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America has listed 59 political murders that took place in Honduras in 2011.[10]

Impact

Medardo Flores was the fifth journalist killed in 2011.[8] He was the 15th or 16th journalist murdered from early 2010 through September 2011 after the U.S. led coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile.[2][3] According to the Human Rights Commission, 23 journalists have been killed in Honduras since 2007.[11]

The official investigations of these crimes have not aided in the determination of a motive, leading the chairman of the IAPA's Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information Robert Rivard to strongly urge authorities to solve and punish those responsible for the murders on journalists since 2007.[8]

Reactions

Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, said, "I condemn the murder of Medardo Flores. The number of journalists killed in Honduras over the last two years is very worrying. These crimes must be investigated and their perpetrators must be brought to justice for the sake of freedom of expression, a fundamental human right, and press foundations of democracy and rule of law. We must make sure that freedom of expression thrives".[12]

The OAS said, "The Office of the Special Rapporteur urges the State to conduct a prompt, diligent and thorough investigation which gives special attention to the possibility that the crime was connected to the victim’s journalistic and political activities."[13]

A statement from RSF said, "It will be very hard for the authorities to rule out the possibility that Flores was killed for political reasons or because of his work as a journalist."[2]

See also

References
  1. Greenslade, Roy (September 12, 2011). "Honduran radio reporter killed". The Guardian (UK).
  2. "Journalist who supported ousted president becomes 15th killed in 18 months - Reporters without borders".
  3. "Another Honduran Journalist Murdered". Inside Costa Rica. September 10, 2011.
  4. "Another journalist murdered in Honduras". September 11, 2011.
  5. EFE (September 9, 2011). "Political activist slain in Honduras". Fox News Latino.
  6. ""Popular Journalist" Medardo Flores Killed in Río Blanquito". hondurasweekly.com. September 9, 2011.
  7. "Pro-Zelaya journalist killed in Bijao - IFEX".
  8. "IAPA deplores fifth murder of a journalist in Honduras this year".
  9. "Journalist supporting former president killed - CMFR".
  10. "Politically Related Killings in Honduras Under President "Pepe" Lobo - Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America".
  11. Associated Press (September 9, 2011). "Radio journalist killed in Honduras". San Diego Union Tribune.
  12. "Director-General condemns assassination of Honduran journalist Medardo Flores and calls for investigation". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. September 13, 2011.
  13. "Office of the Special Rapporteur Condemns Murder of a Community Journalist in Honduras". Organization of American States. September 12, 2011.
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