22 August 2007
Tito Alberto Palma
Shooting
Radio reporter Tito Alberto Palma was shot to death at a friend’s house in Paraguay’s southeastern city of Mayor Otaño.
Palma, a reporter for the local radio station Mayor Otaño and correspondent for the Asunción-based Radio Chaco Boreal, was having dinner at a friend’s home when two armed individuals in camouflage broke in at 10:40 p.m. Without saying a word, the two assailants began to fire their weapons, the owner of the house, Aparicio Martínez, told local reporters.
Palma was shot in the head, neck, arms, and legs. Palma, 48, a Chilean national, often denounced organized crime, illegal smuggling of gas, and local government corruption in the southeastern province of Itapúa. Palma had also reported recently on the existence of illegal radio stations in Mayor Otaño, a small city on Paraguay’s border with Argentina, 285 miles (460 kilometers) from Asunción. Palma had received death threats for years.
Anonymous calls threatening the reporter and his family had intensified in the last month. A week prior to his death, Palma announced on the air that he was returning to Chile because of the threats. Palma had lived in Paraguay since 1991. According to Paraguayan press reports, local police issued a statement saying they were investigating the murder but not speculating on a motive. Palma’s colleagues believe he was murdered in retaliation for his work.
