Two heavily armed men stopped Edgardo Antonio Escoto Amador in the early morning hours, threatened him and stole his bag, which contained important information of national interest.
(C-Libre/IFEX) – Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 23 September 2011 – Journalist Edgardo Antonio Escoto Amador, also known as “Washo”, reported that on 22 September, he was accosted by heavily armed men in the city of Comayaguela. He is a presenter on the shows “Temas y Debates” and “Entrevista con el Washo”, which air on Channel 13 in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.
Escoto Amador told C-Libre that at 5:30 a.m., he was on his way to meet a Channel 13 car to go to the airport when he was stopped by two armed men on a motorcycle. “They pointed guns at me and snatched my briefcase, which contained a laptop with important information. One of the men, whom I couldn’t identify, gave me back some documents, a radio and my cell phone, and then they took off. The laptop had confidential information about the coup d’etat that was shared with me and other journalists several months ago and provoked the ire of retired general Miguel Ángel García Padgett,” he said.
Escoto Amador reported that he has recently been followed by men on motorcycles, and has received threatening phone calls and messages.
The journalist noted that three months ago, the retired general made it clear that he was not pleased about information that was published on the issue and warned the journalist not to continue reporting on it. García Padgett is one of the four perpetrators of the 2009 coup d’etat that ousted President Manuel Zelaya; at the time, he was the commanding general of the Honduran army.
Please note this is an abridged translation.