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Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for information professionals, due in part to the violence of organized crime.
Posted on 7/16/2023 8:11 AM Updated on 7/16/2023 10:59 AM
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On July 11, 2022, journalists gather in Mexico City, Mexico to protest violence against news workers. (CLAUDIO CRUZ / AFP)
On Saturday, July 15, a journalist was shot dead in Acapulco, southern Mexico. The director of a local news site, Nelson Matus, was shot dead in a parking lot near a convenience store, said prosecutors, who announced they were launching an investigation into a “crime of homicide by firearm” and vowing to leave no stone unturned.
This Mexican journalist has 15 years of experience. Balbina Flores, delegate from the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Mexico, told AFP that he specialized in reporting on the violence in the state of Guerrero in the southwest of the country. “He had an introverted character,” especially at times “when reporting violence was sensitive,” recalls a reporter who met the victim on several reports. “He was always cooperative and friendly. He had many connections with many sources,” adds this journalist, who says he feels “terrible outrage”.
In 2022, 13 journalists were killed
This is the second murder of a journalist in a week in this country, one of the most dangerous in the world for information professionals. As reported by RFI, the body of Luis Martin Sanchez was found with traces of violence on July 8, a few days after the disappearance of this correspondent for the daily La Jornada in the state of Nayarit in the west of the country. On Monday, a few dozen journalists gathered in several cities, including Mexico City, to protest the assassination. The Mexican office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for a “speedy, comprehensive, independent and effective” inquiry into the assassination of Luis Martin Sanchez.
With 13 journalists killed, according to authorities, 2022 was the deadliest year for journalists in Mexico since 2000. The country is one of the most violent in the world, with more than 150 journalists killed since 2000, according to the RSF. For its part, the Mexican NGO Article 19 has listed “160 murders of journalists in Mexico since 2000, possibly in connection with their work”. The hardest-hit state is Veracruz, where, according to the same NGO, 31 journalists have been murdered since 2000, particularly in the 2010s. Guerrero ranks second with 15 murders of journalists since 2000, compared to two in the capital, Mexico City.
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