CHILEAN JOURNALIST KILLED BY UNIFORMED MEN

A Chilean radio reporter was shot dead in Paraguay last week by two men wearing military uniforms, report the Paraguayan Union of Journalists (Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay, SPP), Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and international press freedom groups.

Tito Alberto Palma Godoy, a radio journalist, was killed when two armed men opened fire in his home on 22 August in Mayor Otaño, a town in the department of Itapúa, southeastern Paraguay where the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet. His partner, Wilma Martínez, was wounded in the leg.

Palma Godoy, of Chilean nationality, had settled in Paraguay several years before. He regularly reported on the links between organised crime and politicians for a community radio station in Mayor Otaño, and also provided reports for Chaco Boreal radio station in the capital, Asunción.

According to IPYS and SPP, Palma Godoy had often received death threats - which he had reported on air and were known by the authorities. Several years ago, an attempt had been made to expel him from the country, also due to his coverage of the situation in Itapúa.