The Mexican state of Veracruz has proven to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for the press with 17 journalist homicides in the last six years. This year alone, three journalists have been killed in the state.
Carmen Aristegui, one of Mexico’s most well-known journalists, said her country “is experiencing a profound crisis in terms of human rights, including killings and disappearances of journalists and [other] people.”
November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, first declared by the United Nations in 2013, coincides with the Day of the Dead, a cultural and religious event widely celebrated in Mexico.
For the second consecutive year, Mexico and Brazil are the only Latin American countries that are part of the Global Impunity Index by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which was published on Oct. 27.
Javier Duarte de Ochoa, governor of Veracruz, Mexico who has been the subject of widespread criticism for the high levels of violence against journalists in his state, has resigned from his position as he faces unrelated corruption charges.
Aurelio Cabrera Campos, director of weekly El Gráfico in the state of Puebla, was shot on the night of Sept. 14 while driving on the highway in Huauchinango.
The Huffington Post launched its second venture in Latin America on Sept. 1 with the addition of Huffington Post México in Spanish.
Freelance Mexican journalist Lucia López Castillo survived a shooting outside her home in Poza Rica, Veracruz on the night of Aug. 21.
Threats and abuse against Noé Zavaleta led the Mexican journalist to leave the state of Veracruz on Aug. 12, according to Aristegui Noticias.
Mexican authorities arrested a second man accused of being the alleged mastermind and material author of the murder of journalist Anabel Flores Salazar that occurred in February of this year, newspaper El Universal reported.
Another journalist from Veracruz, Mexico has been killed, this time while under state protection.
The task in front of Ana María Ruelas, the new director of the Article 19 Mexico and Central America office, will not be simple. In what is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist, she leads a team that fights daily for basic freedoms for communicators: access to information, protection from bodily harm and guarantees to freely carry out their work.