Journalist and political
activist Orellana, 26, was shot in the head by unknown assailants while he was
riding his motorcycle to work. He was found on the road between the towns of San Lorenzo and Candelaria and taken to a nearby
Salvadoran hospital, where he later died.
Orellana was manager of the
local radio station Radio Joconguera and correspondent for the
Christian-oriented station Radio Progreso. He was also an active member of the
National Front of Popular Resistance, or FNRP, an organization that supported
the ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
Although Radio Joconguera was primarily
devoted to music, Orellana regularly allotted airtime to the FNRP, local news reports
said. He also coordinated a news program for the station that denounced local
corruption, according to a colleague, the Rev. José Amílcar.
Amílcar told CPJ that he and
Orellana had received anonymous death threats via text message and
had been heckled on the street.