Mexico City, June 4, 2025—Honduran authorities must conduct a transparent and credible investigation into the killing of Salvadoran journalist Javier Hércules and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
On the evening of May 31, Hércules, who also worked as a taxi driver, was shot and killed by two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle while driving his taxi in the western department of Copán, according to news reports and the Honduran Journalists Association (CPH). The 50-year-old journalist, originally from Santa Ana, El Salvador, died at the scene.
Hércules, who reported on organized crime for the local television outlet ATN a Todo Noticias, had been enrolled in Honduras’ National Protection System for Journalists, which has provided protection measures like police escort, relocation, and risk assessments since 2023, according to local news outlet Proceso Digital. He had previously received threats and, in November 2023, was abducted by two armed men, beaten, and left in a remote area.
Despite being placed under state protection after this, the government did not assign Hércules bodyguards.
“The killing of Javier Hércules tragically illustrates the failure of Honduras’ journalist protection mechanism, as well as the severe risks faced by reporters covering organized crime,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America program coordinator, in São Paulo. “Authorities must urgently determine whether he was targeted for his journalism, and act decisively to break an ongoing cycle of impunity.”
Hércules’ daughter, Karina, told La Prensa that the family was unaware of any recent threats.
Angelica Cárcamo, director of the Central American Network of Journalists, told CPJ that the organization believes he was targeted because of his reporting.
CPJ sent a message to the Honduran Security Secretariat but did not receive a response.
Honduras remains one of the most dangerous countries in the region for journalists. CPJ has documented numerous cases of threats, harassment, criminalization, and killings of members of the press, many of which remain unsolved. A report submitted by CPJ and partners to the United Nations in April as part of the Honduras Universal Periodic Review recommended the strengthening of regulations in the country’s Protection Law.