A political reporter in northwestern Mexico was kidnapped after leaving his office Wednesday, Aug. 24, reported the BBC and the Sinaloa newspaper El Debate. Humberto Millán, announcer for Radio Fórmula and editor of the independent online newspaper A Discusión in Culiacán, was abducted by armed men in two trucks, a "hallmark" of organized crime, according to the Latin American Herald Tribune.
The kidnapping took place minutes after Millán left his office driving a white Chevrolet Tahoe with his brother. Millán's brother was let go and he informed the authorities of the crime, according to the website Al Instante Noticias.com. The white Tahoe was also stolen.
The Seventh of June Association of Journalists and Communicators, of which Millán is a member, denounced the forced disappearance and urged Sinaloan Governor Mario López Valdéz to investigate the case and safely return their colleague.
The day before the kidnapping, Millán published an opinion piece about the Coahuila government's debt and its implications for the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 2012 presidential candidate. Millán, 53 years-old, specializes in political topics in his column Sin Ambages.
Violence and attacks against journalists driven by drug-related violence have increased in Mexico since 2006. See this Knight Center map detailing attacks against the press across Mexico.
