A mayor in Honduras ordered the closure of a television channel and interfered with the distribution of the newspaper El Heraldo, reported the publication.
Roosevelt Avilez, mayor of the city of Talanga, in the center of the country, was accused of buying up copies of the national newspaper El Heraldo that reported the closure of the cable television station Telecentro to keep them off newsstands on Oct. 16, and Oct. 17.
Two local cable providers suspended Telecentro's broadcast signal on the mayor's orders, reported the Committee for Free Expression in Honduras. In the meantime, the station has replaced its newscasts with movies, according to the organization.
The owner of Telecentro, Kennet Cruz, said that they were shut down at the mayor's request. Cruz went on to claim Avilez, who is seeking re-election, does not tolerate the criticisms from his opponents aired on the station, according to the newspaper La Prensa.
Citizens in Talanga filed a complaint about the cable channel's closure with the Human Rights Prosecutor but the mayor has not appeared to answer the charge, according to El Heraldo. were among the accusers.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
