Mexico City, February 12, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Honduran Armed Forces to end its intimidation campaign against journalists following defamation complaints against 12 media outlets in connection with reports on alleged government corruption.
“Armed forces should not weaponize the judicial system to silence the press,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America program coordinator, based in São Paulo. “Targeting journalists with defamation charges and coercing media to reveal sources threaten press freedom and undermine democracy. Honduran authorities must immediately end these intimidation tactics.”
Gen. Roosevelt Hernández ordered military lawyers to file criminal defamation complaints against the media outlets in November 2024, according to a report by Honduran newspaper La Prensa.
Hondudiario’s editorial team told Reportar sin Medio, a Honduran news site, that the request came following its Oct. 30, 2024 report on internal divisions within the Honduran Armed Forces, including allegations that Hernández’s received government-funded medical treatment abroad for a heart condition.
The Honduras prosecutor’s office accepted the complaints, and law enforcement notified newsrooms that they were being investigated in late January 2025, La Prensa reported.
According to news reports, outlets under investigation include newspapers El Heraldo, La Prensa, La Tribuna, Hondudiario, Criterio HN, radio stations Radio Cadena Voces, Radio América, Abriendo Brecha, and TV outlets CHTV, Hable Como Habla, Q’Hubo TV, and Noticias 24/7.
Hernández confirmed that he had initiated the complaints but denied that they were meant to intimidate journalists, reported La Prensa.
Honduras’ penal code criminalizes defamation with prison terms up to one year and fines ranging from 200 to 1,000 days of salary for alleged false accusations in “reckless disregard for the truth.” The law imposes harsher penalties for statements made through print, television, radio, or digital platforms, a category referred to as “defamation with publicity.”
CPJ’s requests for comment from the Honduran Armed Forces, National Police, Public Ministry, and Security Ministry did not receive any reply.