Lima, 68, was shot and killed by two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle as he was getting out of his car to enter the Zacapa-based offices of Radio Sultana de Oriente, where he hosted a radio program, according to news reports.
The local press freedom group Cerigua said Lima was a veteran and well-known journalist, and that he hosted a music program and a talk radio program that listeners would call in to and speak with Lima on air.
In a telephone interview with CPJ in August 2014, Ángel Ramirez, a prosecutor with the unit for crimes against the press, said they were looking into criticism Lima had made of a local politician both on and off the air, but did not elaborate. Ramírez told CPJ his unit has a strong “commitment to solve these crimes,” but many “external factors” complicated its work.
A week after the murder, the Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre quoted Elmer Yat, then head of the national attorney general office’s unit on crimes against the press, as saying, “According to preliminary investigations, [Lima] had not received any death threats or told his friends, colleagues, or family about being the victim of any threats.” Yat said they were investigating Lima’s past work at the radio station, but did not provide further details.