On November 1, two unidentified individuals on a motorcycle shot Buenaventura Calderón, host of the daily news program “Ecos de la Mosquitia” (Echoes of the Mosquitia) on Catholic radio broadcaster Kupia Kumi, while he was driving with his wife in the city of Puerto Lempira, on Honduras’ Caribbean coast, according to news reports.
Calderón died at the scene and his wife died in the hospital hours later, according to a report by Honduran daily El Heraldo. Police have opened an investigation into the killing, according to those news reports.
Calderón often criticized local authorities in Puerto Lempira in his broadcasts, alleging corruption in education and healthcare services and highlighting impunity in investigations of drug trafficking cases, according to two individuals who knew Calderón. Both spoke with CPJ on November 4, 2019, on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns.
CPJ could not locate contact details of the radio station.
As well as his role as a radio host, Calderón was a businessman, president of the local business association the Puerto Lempira Board of Trustees, and a local representative for the Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) opposition political party, according to the news website Notibomba.
CPJ repeatedly called the Honduran National Police at the numbers listed on its official websites for comment on November 4 and 5, but no one answered the calls.