Peruvian journalist Gaston Medina, who denounced cases of corruption and extortion, was assassinated Monday as he left his home, the country’s main journalists’ union announced on Monday.
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Owner and director of the regional channel Cadena Sur TV, Mr. Medina “was killed by several gunshots at the door of his house in Ica”, in southern Peru, said the National Association of Journalists (ANP) .
He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to the ANP, the journalist “denounced the regional government, the provincial municipality, the judiciary and the extortionists” of the public transport service in Ica, a city of around 450,000 inhabitants.
Gaston Medina was “threatened with death,” declared his lawyer Wilmer Quispe, who called for a “thorough investigation by the national police” in front of journalists present at the hospital.
The journalist denounced the extortion carried out by criminal gangs against bus drivers and small traders, a growing phenomenon in Peru.
-On Monday, in the northwestern city of Trujillo, the epicenter of extortion, two people were injured when a bomb exploded in front of the prosecutor’s office. CCTV footage shows a man on a motorbike dropping off a bag in front of the prosecutor’s office. The bag exploded shortly after.
Attorney General Delia Espinoza attributed the attack to organized crime.
Last year, the country’s transport companies staged numerous strikes due to the murders of bus drivers attributed to these gangs.
Organized crime has evolved considerably in recent years in Peru due to the migration crisis in Venezuela, firearms trafficking and the arrival of powerful gangs such as the “Tren de Aragua”, of Venezuelan origin, recognized the government.
Peru ranks 125th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 Press Freedom Index, falling since 2022.
The ANP recorded 392 attacks and assaults against journalists in 2024, the highest number recorded this century.
