Airwaves & Liberty

This post is cobbled together from a few souces, including “Tim’s El Salvador Blog” and PNB member Don White. ~N

The owner and journalists of radio station Radio Cadena Mi Gente have reported receiving death threats since the beginning of the year. The radio station has headquarters in Virginia, and also broadcasts over the internet and on an AM station in El Salvador. The editorial stance of the station is often critical of the current government’s policies. The threats have been denounced by the El Salvador journalists association, the human rights institute of University of Central America, and other civil society organizations.

This is the radio station that Salvadoran alternative media journalist Sanchez Roque helped create. Sanchez was murdered in September, allegedly by a Salvadoran gang member who believed that the journalist had incriminated them in his reporting.

The progressive political party in El Salvador, Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN) has nominated Mauricio Funes as its candidate for president of El Salvador in the 2009 elections. Don White of CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) says that Funes is leading in polls, so death squad activity and terrorism directed toward the Left has increased in recent weeks.