Guatemalan broadcast journalist Carlos Alberto Orellana Chavez was found shot to death on Monday (19 August) in San Bernardino, in the southern province of Suchitepéquez, hours after he was abducted from his car.
Orellana, 62, spent 25 years with La Venadita radio and also hosted television programmes on Canal Óptimo 23 in Mazatenango, the provincial capital. He had denounced local corruption, but it is unclear whether his journalism was a motive for the murder.
He is the fourth journalist murdered in Guatemala this year. His killing followed the serious wounding of Fredy Rodas, regional correspondent for Sonora es la Noticia radio and capital daily Al Dia, who was shot seven days before in Mazatenango.
"The authorities must thoroughly investigate the murder of Carlos Alberto Orellana Chávez and the shooting of Fredy Rodas, determine the motives, and bring those responsible to justice," said Carlos Lauría, a coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Last Thursday, gunmen shot at the home of Vernick Gudiel, head of the investigative team at the Guatemala City daily newspaper, elPeriódico. No-one was hurt.
Sources: CPJ/Latin American Herald Tribune
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