Peruvian journalist attacked after reporting on local corruption

Peruvian radio journalist Juan Carlos Yaya Salcedo, 35, has vowed to continue working after suffering a gunshot wound to his thigh,Feb. 6, according to the Peruvian national news website RPP.

Salcedo, who hosts the hour-long news radio program, “Sin Escape” (No Escape), told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he was riding his motorcycle to work in the municipality of Nuevo Imperial (Cañete Province, southern Lima Region), when he noticed a blue car approaching from behind. He then reported hearing two gunshots and felt a bullet enter his left leg, before the car sped off. Police officers then took Salcedo to a nearby clinic, where he is expected to make a full recovery and return to work soon.

Salcedo, who has worked as a journalist for the past 12 years, had never reported receiving threats before, but told CPJ that the attack could be connected to a story he had worked on that concerned faulty construction of a public swimming pool and “communal building.” Police reports also suggest that the shooting is connected to Salcedo’s work as a journalist, as the assailants did not attempt to steal anything.