On his morning radio programme, journalist Luis Galdámez has constantly expressed his opposition to the coup d'état that removed former president Manuel Zelaya from office.
(C-Libre/IFEX) – On the night of 14 September 2010, Luis Galdámez, a journalist for the Radio Globo radio station, was the target of an assassination attempt carried out by unidentified individuals who were hiding near his home in Tegucigalpa’s Villa Olímpica neighbourhood.
Galdámez said the attack took place at 11:30 at night when he was returning to his home. “There were three people. It was raining and I ran towards my house after getting out of my car. My children told me that there were some men crouching in a car outside. They began to shoot at me. They came onto the patio, but I returned their gunfire,” Galdámez said. He went on to say that the three individuals took cover behind a wall and that an exchange of gunfire ensued. His attackers then fled in a green Honda Accord with no licence plates.
Galdámez said the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has issued a recommendation that he be given protection but that no protective measures have been provided to him. He also said that on the night of the attack it took the police an hour and a half to arrive after he made an emergency call to them.
Galdámez earlier spent three months holed up in the Brazilian embassy after the surprise return to the country of former president Zelaya. He also accompanied Zelaya on trips to Mexico, Nicaragua and several South American countries.
In Honduras, eight journalists and one broadcaster have been assassinated thus far in 2010. To date the crimes have not been solved, making Honduras one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.
