Unidentified gunmen fired at least 37
times at Paz, who was in a car near her home, The Associated Press reported.
The journalist and her cousin, Delmer Osmar Canales Gutiérrez, who worked as her
driver, were both killed. Paz was testing a car she was considering buying from
an army colonel, Marco Tulio Leiva, press reports said.
Paz, 38, was the host of the morning news
program “3 en la noticia” (Three on the News) on the Cadena Hondureña de
Noticias (Honduran News Network). She had also worked for Radio Globo, a radio
station known for its criticism of the 2009 ouster of former President Manuel
Zelaya, news reports said.
Authorities said they were investigating
several potential motives for the attack. Héctor Iván Mejía, a spokesman for
the Ministry of Security, told reporters that
investigators were looking into the background of Canales and were considering
an attempted carjacking as a possibility. Mejía added that “another question
[was] the journalistic work.”
Officials were also looking into reports that the journalist had received threats related to her
refusal to cooperate with criminals trying to extort money from a small
business she ran.