Gay activist killed in Honduras

The Honduran police have promised on Tuesday to investigate the murder of a gay rights activist who also was amongst protesters that rallied in the June coup that toppled President Manuel Zelaya.

The anti-coup National Resistance Front said gunmen in a vehicle had shot at and wounded Walter Trochez on Sunday as he was walking in Tegucigalpa. Trochez was taken to a hospital by friends that were near by but could not be saved.

“Trochez was an active militant in the resistance and an example of the fight against the dictatorship,” the group said in a statement released on the day the victim was buried.

The front, which until recently staged daily protests to demand Zelaya’s restoration to the presidency, blamed the attack “on the repressive forces that the oligarchy uses to stop the demands of the Honduran people for liberty and democracy.”

Police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said the case was “being exhaustively investigated.” He named no suspects but dismissed the possibility that police were involved.