Mexican authorities of the state of Sonora in northeastern Mexico, confirmed the kidnapping of a police beat journalist who covers local security and justice issues, on Thursday, May 17, reported the Associated Press.
According to witnesses, journalist Marcos Ávila, section editor for the newspaper El Regional de Sonora, was kidnapped by three masked, armed individuals while he was at a carwash in the city of Ciudad Obregón, according to El Regional de Sonora and Fox News.
The Attorney General of Sonora said that the reporter's vehicle had logos of the newspapers El Regional and El Diario de Sonora, reported El Diario de Sonora. The witnesses also said that the kidnappers asked Marcos Ávila if he was a journalist, and after he answered yes, they forced him into a car, reported the newspaper Milenio.
May was a tragic month for the Mexican press, after the killing of four journalists in Veracruz, and a killing of a police reporter in the center of the country.
Mexico is one of the most-dangerous countries in the world for journalists. See this map about attacks against the Mexican press created by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.
