Two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle shot and killed Salvadoran journalist Javier Hércules, who also worked as a taxi driver, while driving his taxi in the western department of Copán on May 31, 2025, 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, including 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.
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.