The name of Paraguayan journalist Pablo Medina, who was killed while on assignment in October 2014, has been added to the Journalists Memorial at the Newseum in Washington D.C.
Medina’s name and those of 13 other journalists from around the world who died in 2014 were added to the permanent memorial on June 8. He is the only journalist from Latin America to be recognized this year.
Medina was a regional correspondent for newspaper daily ABC Color. While returning from an assignment, he was shot multiple times in the northeastern Canindeyú department by men in camouflage who had stopped his vehicle. His 19-year-old assistant was also killed.
Medina’s brother Salvador, also a journalist, was killed 13 years earlier in the same region. Both reporters covered drug trafficking.
The state had previously assigned police protection to Medina because of death threats he received, but the protection was withdrawn in 2013.
On March 30, 2015, the Paraguayan authorities sent a formal request to Brazil asking for the extradition of Vilmar Acosta Marques, who is accused of being the mastermind behind Medina’s murder.
Medina had linked Acosta Marques, a former mayor of Ypejhú, to drug trafficking and homicides.
Hearings are underway in Brazil to determine Acosta Marques’ citizenship and whether he can be extradited.
Paraguay ranked seventh on the list of deadliest countries for journalists in 2014, according to CPJ. The region of the country bordering Brazil, including where Medina was killed, has seen large amounts of violent activity in recent years.
Citing reports from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders, the Newseum determined that worldwide, “more than 80 journalists died reporting the news in 2014.” The 14 journalists included in the June 8 dedication “represent all journalists who died covering the news in 2014.”
A complete list of journalists killed in 2014 is available in digital kiosks in the memorial gallery, according to the Newseum, a museum and institute dedicated to freedom of expression.
As a tradition for the past seven years, the Newseum has showcased the front pages of newspapers from around the world at the museum and online each day. On the day of the memorial dedication, all pages were blacked out “to raise awareness of the threats journalists face every day around the world.” Twitter users from around the world joined the campaign using the hashtag #WithoutNews.
The memorial in Washington D.C. now lists the names of 2,271 reporters, photographers, broadcasters and news executives who have died since 1837, according to the Newseum.
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.
