Gunmen kill 10th journalist in perilous Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA: Unidentified gunmen shot and killed radio reporter Henry Suazo, the 10th journalist to be killed this year in Honduras, the most dangerous country for members of the media, Radio HRN said Tuesday.

"We urge the authorities to clarify the facts, the motives and the perpetrators of this crime," said the station, for which Suazo was a correspondent in the Caribbean port city of La Ceiba.

Activists from a committee for relatives of those detained and disappeared in Honduras told media that "Suazo's death reflects the atmosphere of insecurity and helplessness in which the journalistic profession -- and the general population -- finds itself in this country."

The murder of the 39-year-old, who also worked at a local television station, took place in the town of La Masica, on the Atlantic coast of Honduras.

Media watchdog Press Emblem Campaign said Monday that Mexico and Pakistan recorded the most killings of media workers this year.

Most of the 14 journalists killed in Mexico were linked to coverage of the brutal drug war there, while the 14 killings in Pakistan occurred mostly in the lawless border areas near Afghanistan.

While Honduras was listed third -- with Suazo's death bringing the number of journalists killed to 10 this year -- it had far more deaths per capita than any country at or near the top of the list.

The tiny Central American nation has a population of just 7.5 million, compared to 107.4 million for Mexico and 169.7 million for Pakistan, according to World Bank figures.