Honduran president threatens reporter at public event

Annoyed by a difficult question from a reporter last week, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández demanded that he reveal his sources to the interior ministry and used a threatening tone that is typical of the oppressive climate for news media and civil society news providers. Ramón Maldonado, a reporter for Radio Matutino Ceibeño and HCH television, posed the awkward question when the president was inaugurating a public WiFi connection in the northern city of La Ceiba’s central park on 10 July. Referring to public funding for mining projects in the region, Maldonado asked him about an alleged government plan to move the borders of the Nombre de Dios nature reserve to allow mining for marble without taking account of the fact that the reserve is the main water source for much of the region’s population. “Would the president be ready to support this type of apparently illegal action,” he asked. Reacting with irritation, President Hernández asked him where he got his information and ordered his bodyguards to find out his name and take his photo. Maldonado volunteered his name but after the event was over, no security agents came to take his photo. “Such threatening behaviour is unworthy of the president of a democratic country,” said Camille Soulier, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Americas desk. “We condemn President Hernández’s comments and the attempt to violate Maldonado’s sources.” This intimidation attempt comes at time of tension for journalists in Honduras, which is ranked 129th out of 180 countries in the 2014 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. Dina Meza, RWB’s Honduras correspondent, continues to get constant death threats without receiving any protection from the authorities. She submitted a second written request (attached) or protection to the interior ministry on 15 July, again without obtaining any response. Meza, who is in contact with Maldonado, has posted an alert on Facebook about the threat to him. The independent website Vos el Soberano has also helped to circulate information about the threat.