Peruian journalist closed by hitman in Amazon
Peru’s journalist Raul Cellis Lopez was shot in a head by two unidentified men on a motorbike as he was going to work in Equitos by motorbike taxi on Wednesday.Lopez reported deep Equitos in Amazon, Peru for more than three decades.The 70 -year -old Radio Host regularly discussed corruption and violence of armed gangs who plague Equitos on their daily current affairs programs.“None of his personal belongings were taken, a strong sign that it was a target execution,” reporters Windout Borders (RSF) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Condemnation of murder
Press freedom organizations were in a hurry to condemn the murder.The Inter -American Press Association has killed a journalist “for corruption, forced recovery and its condemnation of crime in the region.”Jose Roberto Dutiz, president of the Inter American Press Association, said in a statement, “We are deeply concerned with the violence against journalists in Peru.”The National Association of Journalists of Peru demanded a “quick and rigid” investigation of Lopez’s death.RSF called Lopez’s death a “sad Wake-up call”.RSF said in its statement, “Journalists reporting on Amazon’s social, political and environmental realities are being left without security.”
Second murder of reporter this year
Lopez’s assassination is the second such murder this year.In January, the owner of a regional TV channel, Gaston Medina was shot dead as he was leaving his home in the South-Central City ICA.Medina also reported on the forced recovery epidemic of Peru.Peru is facing an unprecedented wave of officials leading to declare emergency situation in many parts of the country.At the same time, the Latin American country has seen a worrying decline in its media independence, which ranks 130 out of 180 countries on the 2025 Press Freedom Index of RSF.This is a decline of 53 posts since 2022.
