24 September 2008
Alejandro Zenon Fonseca Estrada
Shooting
Mexican radio host Alejandro Zenon Fonseca Estrada was gunned down Tuesday [23 September] as he was putting up anticrime posters in Villahermosa, capital of the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco.
Four unidentified men riding in a van pulled alongside Fonseca, host of a morning talk show on EXA FM, as he was hanging the posters on a major street around 9 p.m. Tuesday, witnesses told local police and reporters. One of the posters read, "No to Kidnappings," while another declared support for Tabasco's governor, Andres Granier Melo. Witnesses said the assailants berated Fonseca for the posters and then shot him at close range.
Fonseca was taken to a local hospital, where he died from chest wounds early Wednesday, according to press reports. The assailants were said to be armed with AR-15 rifles. Fonseca, known by the affectionate Mexican nickname, "The Godfather," hosted the morning call-in show "El Padrino Fonseca" (The Godfather Fonseca), geared toward young listeners, for the past 10 years.
Earlier this month, Fonseca had announced that he planned to put up the posters as part of his ongoing campaign against violence in Tabasco, according to press reports and CPJ interviews. It was not immediately clear whether Fonseca had received threats while waging his campaign on the radio. Colleagues told CPJ and the local press that Fonseca was a well-known and respected radio personality in Tabasco, especially among young listeners.
