Journalist Israel Zelaya Díaz was found dead in a sugarcane plantation close to the city of Villanueva, with bullet wounds to his body.
(C-Libre/IFEX) – Journalist Israel Zelaya Díaz was killed on 24 August 2010 in northern Honduras, according to reports from the local police spokesperson Leonel Sauceda.
Zelaya Díaz, 56, was known by friends as “Chacatay”. He was found dead in a sugarcane plantation close to the city of Villanueva, with bullet wounds to his body. He worked on the programme “Claro y Pelado”, broadcast by Radio Internacional.
Robbery has been ruled out as a motive. As well, police say they do not think that his death was linked to his work as a journalist, but they are going to closely investigate the work that Zelaya Díaz was doing before eliminating it as a cause for his murder.
According to some of his colleagues, Zelaya Díaz had three bullet wounds to his back and head.
He was last seen at 2:00 p.m. on 24 August before his body was dropped from a moving vehicle near sugarcane fields. No other details are known. It appears that robbery was not the motive because personal effects were found with Zelaya Díaz’s body.
Some years ago Zelaya Díaz survived another attack when unknown individuals shot at his car in San Pedro Sula.
Eight journalists and one newscaster have been killed so far in 2010.
(Please note this is an abridged translation.)
