Fifth Guatemalan journalist killed this year

I condemn the killings of Diego Salomón Esteban Gaspar and Álvaro Alfredo Aceituno López,” the Director-General of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in a statement. “Violent crimes must not be allowed to limit media workers' freedom to carry out their work, which is important for society as a whole.”

Guatemala's been a rough place for journalists for quite some time. However, there seems to have been an even greater uptick in violence against them since last year's corruption scandals led to the removal of the country's president and vice-president. While some outlets were involved in Perez Molina's organized crime racket, others have begun to ask dangerous questions about the links between organized criminal groups and political and economic elites.

I can't say directly as a result, but a fifth journalist was just killed in Guatemala. Radio reporter Álvaro Alfredo Aceituno López was shot and killed in the municipality of Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango on June 25. Freedom House and the United Nations have condemned his murder as well as the four that occurred earlier this year.

See also my 2013: A democratic setback in Guatemala for Al Jazeera. That year was considered the worst in recent memory for journalists.