Journalists Killed in 2014 - Motive Unconfirmed: Fernando Raymondi
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 23 December 2014 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Killed in 2014 - Motive Unconfirmed: Fernando Raymondi, 23 December 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54a3b2c9c.html [accessed 23 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Caretas
November 9, 2014, in San Vicente de Cañete, Peru
Two gunmen burst in to Raymondi's father's grocery store in San Vicente de Cañete, a town just south of the capital city of Lima, according to news reports. Hilario Raymondi, the journalist's father, said they told the gunmen where the money was kept, but one of the gunmen shot Raymondi twice in the chest, according to news reports. The assailants fled on a motorcycle without taking anything. Raymondi died on the way to the hospital.
Raymondi, 22, was studying journalism at a Lima university and for the past eight months had worked as a reporter for Caretas, Peru's leading newsmagazine, according to news reports. He had written several articles for the publication, including a report on the girlfriend of a suspended mayor and one on an eviction in the city of Cajamarca, news reports said. Raymondi often traveled to San Vicente de Cañete to visit his father and had begun investigating a series of more than a dozen killings, including of three construction workers, in the town, according to a report by Caretas.
Américo Zambrano, an editor at Caretas, said Raymondi had been working on a story about killings by gangs who had been allegedly extorting construction companies in and around the town. The report had not been published yet, according to The Associated Press.
"I can't go out on a limb and say that [his story] was the reason for the killing, but nothing can be ruled out," Zambrano told the Lima station Radio Exitoso. He said Raymondi had not reported receiving any threats.
The head of the Peruvian police, General Jorge Flores Goicochea, said the journalist had been killed amid the chaos and confusion of the attempted robbery, according to news reports, but Raymondi's parents expressed doubts to local reporters that the murder was the result of a robbery attempt.
The Minister of the Interior, Daniel Aaresti, said in a radio interview with RRP Noticias that he had sent a special unit to Cañete to investigate the killing.
Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.
