The SRFOE condemns recent murders of journalists in the Americas and calls on States to prevent, protect, and investigate acts of violence against them

June 18, 2025

Washington, DC—The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) strongly condemns the recent crimes and acts of violence committed against journalists and press workers in the Americas during May. The Office urges States to conduct prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations; to punish and prosecute those responsible; and to implement effective and immediate protection measures for those at risk.

Between April and June of this year, the SRFOE learned with concern of reports of violence against the press in various states of the region. In Mexico, according to public information, on May 15, 2025, José Carlos González Herrera, director of the Facebook news page El Guerrero, Opinión Ciudadana, was murdered in Acapulco, Guerrero. Two unidentified individuals allegedly shot him with a firearm. González Herrera used the platform to denounce acts of corruption and highlight situations related to citizen security, institutional violence, and local political issues. Civil society organizations indicate that in June 2023, he was the victim of a similar attack in the same city, when he was shot while driving his vehicle.

Similarly, on May 20, 2025, journalist and photographer Avisack Douglas was killed after being wounded in an armed attack on the campaign headquarters of a mayoral candidate in Juan Rodríguez Clara, Veracruz, and died from her injuries. According to public reports, Douglas was part of the campaign team as a photographer. The State Attorney General’s Office reported that it has identified two suspects in the crime.

The SRFOE also expresses concern about threats made between April and May 2025 against Adela Navarro Bello, a journalist and co-director of the weekly newspaper ZETA in Tijuana, Baja California, which specializes in drug trafficking, corruption, and organized crime. According to public reports, the journalist received calls warning her to “watch out.” According to available information, these incidents were reported to the Baja California Secretariat of Citizen Security. The SRFOE takes note of the statement by the State governor, who offered support and follow-up on the case to ensure the journalist’s protection.

In Brazil, radio host Luís Augusto Carneiro da Costa was murdered on May 27 during a live broadcast of his radio program on Guaranay FM in Abaetetuba, Pará state. According to publicly available information, an unknown individual broke into the station and shot the host while he was on the air, and listeners heard the shots; the journalist died at the scene.

Per the Brazilian government, the authorities in the state of Pará responded immediately to the murder of the broadcaster, launching investigations to identify the perpetrators and those who ordered the killing. On May 29, the Civil Police announced the preventive detention of Gleydoson Moraes Queiroz, who confessed to the crime. Investigations are continuing to determine the involvement of other individuals and to understand the motives for the murder. To date, there has been no confirmation that the crime was related to the victim’s profession.

In Honduras, two journalists were killed. On June 1, 2025, Salvadoran journalist Javier Antonio Hércules Salinas, who worked for A Todo Noticias (ATN), was killed in Santa Rosa de Copán, in the department of Copán. According to available information, unknown individuals traveling on a motorcycle shot him with a firearm while he was driving a vehicle he used as a taxi, an activity he carried out in addition to his work as a journalist. Public reports indicate that, since 2023, he had been under protection by the Honduran National Protection System after receiving threats and being the victim of an attempted kidnapping.

On the same day, journalist Carlos Gilberto Aguirre, a sports reporter, was also killed, allegedly in a stabbing attack by an unknown individual in the municipality of Juticalpa, department of Olancho.

These reports are in addition to other murders of journalists previously recorded by the Special Rapporteur in communications: R28/25, R29/25, R32/25, R56/25 and R109/25. For the purposes of assessing lethal violence against the press in the region, the SRFOE encourages consultation of all current statements in their entirety.

In light of these events, the Office recalls that the murder of journalists constitutes the most extreme form of censorship. Furthermore, violence against the press violates the victims’ right to express and disseminate their ideas, opinions, and information; it has an intimidating and silencing effect on their colleagues; and it affects the right of individuals and societies in general to seek and receive information and ideas of any kind. In accordance with Principle 9 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, it is the duty of States to prevent and investigate such acts, punish those responsible, and guarantee adequate redress to the victims.

The Special Rapporteurship recognizes the measures adopted by various States to strengthen their regulatory frameworks and their capacity to respond to protect journalists, including, among others, the activation of technical cooperation initiatives, the development of public policies to prevent violence against journalists, and the implementation of training programs.

Therefore, the Rapporteurship urges the competent authorities of Honduras, Brazil, and Mexico to conduct thorough, diligent, and impartial investigations into the aforementioned incidents, as well as to identify, punish, and prosecute those responsible for these crimes. It also urges the States of the region to adopt effective, necessary, and immediate measures to protect journalists at risk, ensuring them the maximum guarantees for the free and safe exercise of their work.

The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to promote the defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression in the Americas, considering its fundamental role in the consolidation and development of the democratic system.

No. R124/25

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