In Iquitos, Peru, journalist Raul Celis Lopez was fatally shot in the head on Wednesday by two unidentified individuals on a motorcycle while commuting to work via a motorbike taxi. Lopez had spent over three decades reporting from Iquitos, situated in the Peruvian Amazon, and frequently addressed topics such as corruption and the violence of armed gangs on his daily news program. Reports indicate that nothing was stolen from him, suggesting this was a targeted assassination.
Press freedom organizations condemned the killing, with the Inter American Press Association expressing deep concern over the rising violence against journalists in Peru. There has also been a notable decline in media freedom in the country, as Peru ranks 130th out of 180 on RSF’s 2025 Press Freedom Index, a drop of 53 positions since 2022.
Lopez’s assassination marks the second time this year a reporter has been killed in Peru; Gaston Medina, a TV channel owner who also covered issues of extortion, was shot and killed in Ica in January. The surge in violent crime and racketeering has prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency in several regions.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/peruvian-journalist-gunned-down-by-hitmen-in-amazon/a-72469991?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
