Paraguayan Journalist Gunned Down on Brazilian Border

Gerardo Servian Coronel, 45, worked at the radio station Ciudad Nueva in the city of Zanja Pyta in Paraguay’s northeastern border region. The journalist was killed on 4 March by two unknown persons who were driving a motorbike.

The Paraguayan Union of Journalists (SPP) said Servian was critical of the local government. According to organizations that defend Paraguayan journalists, Servian is the 17th journalist to be murdered in Paraguay over the past two decades. Most of these murders have been reprisals for investigative reporting on the links between organized crime and politics. Two journalists were murdered in Paraguay in direct connection with their work in 2014.

“We protest against the government of the drug cartel who is responsible for the death of five friend journalists in just one year and a half. The mafia feels as the owner of this country, being part of the government. This country is governed by the mafia”, said Santiago Ortiz, secretary in charge of the Paraguayan Union of Journalists.

According to Journalist without Borders, Paraguay’s northeastern border region, including Amambay department, is a hub of drug trafficking to South America’s Southern Cone. It is extremely dangerous for journalists, who are the frequent victims of violence by traffickers and corrupt local authorities.