Journalist shot to death in Guatemala

Unidentified assailants shot to death a correspondent of Nuestro Diario newspaper in a town on Guatemala’s southern border with El Salvador, authorities reported Thursday.

Jaime Jarquín, who was a correspondent for the newspaper in the southern province of Jutiapa, was gunned down Wednesday night as he was chatting with friends in a small store in Ciudad Pedro de Álvaro, they said.

Three others were wounded in the attack, according to the report by the volunteer fire department.

Nuestro Diario, with a circulation of about 200,000, is the country’s largest newspaper.

It said Jarquín, a 63-year-old retired schoolteacher and commander of the local fire department, had been working for the newspaper for three years.

The newspaper did not say whether the attack was prompted by his journalistic work or whether he had received any threats. An investigation was under way.

Guatemala has been struggling with a wave of violence, related mainly to drug trafficking.