Journalist Hamilton Roelí Hernández Vásquez, 28, and his wife Ermelinda González Lucas, 35, were killed in a shooting on Saturday November 5th. The National Civil Police (PNC) reported that the bodies were found on the road leading from Coatepeque to Flores Costa Cuca, Quetzaltenango.
According to the Diario Digital, Hernández Vásquex worked in a local radio station as a news broadcaster. The motive for the attack is so far unknown; Public Ministry spokeswoman Julia Barreda has said at this time the proceedings have been made to begin an investigation.
“Calls came in alerting [us] that two people were found on the edge of a dirt road on the Coatepeque highway, upon arriving at the location we found that the victims had died some hours earlier, both had several bullet wounds in their heads,” said Cecilio Jackal, spokesman of the local fire department.
Information given to firefighters at the scene stated that Hernández Vásquez had covered an event on Saturday night, and left the area on his motorcycle, on his way to pick up his wife.
Neighbors were the first to notify police of the shooting. Official spokesperson for the PNC, Jorge Chinchilla, stated that the victims were found at 5:00 am.
“Hernández Vásquez had at least three gunshot wounds in the back of his head, and Lucas González had two, according to witnesses.
“The guild once again suffers the death of another colleague. This raises warning signs, since last year three murders were recorded, while in 2016 with the death of Hernández Vásquez, the number has risen to nine. Each time, we move up on the scale of countries where it is a risk to practice journalism,” said Ileana Alamilla of the Association of Journalists of Guatemala (APG).
By October, 76 complaints had been registered in the Fiscal Unit for Crimes against Journalists, according to the latest report of Journalists Observatory, part of the Center for Informative Reports on Guatemala (Cerigua). Cerigua has reported 47 attacks on the guild to the Inter American Press Association (IAPA)
Within a month the number rose, according to Alamilla, and with this case, there are now 55 cases that include allegations of threats, assaults, intimidation and censorship on journalists. According to the Diario Digital, Alamilla stated, “There will be many cases that are not related to the practice as such, but records are still in process, which the Public Ministry should determine. It is necessary that investigations and cases of judicialization be sped up. This year, as in others, cases are repeated in the departments.”
Ivan Velasquez, head of the International Commission Against Impunity (CICIG), confirmed that they support the investigation of the two assassinated journalists, which could be tied to organizations that are already being investigated.
Note: The number of murders of journalists varies is reported at 7, while other sources report numbers as high as 11.
Guatemala Human Rights Commission 