A group of journalists and defenders of freedom of expression called for Mexican citizens to protest the insecurity and violence faced by press workers in the country on Sunday, Feb. 23. The group announced their call to action through a press statement given in Veracruz on Sunday, Feb. 16.
After finding the body of Mexican reporter Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz on Feb. 11, Veracruz state authorities said the kidnapping and killing were likely motivated by personal vengeance -- something other journalists are finding hard to believe, the Associated Press reported.
More than 20 years after the fall of the dictatorships and civil wars that dominated Latin America, the region continues to be marked by a strong retaliation against the press, according to Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) most recent annual index on the state of press freedom, which was published on Feb. 12.
Northern Mexico has fallen into a state of fear creating a silenced media that is less willing to report crime and take on investigative pieces, according a recent University of Arizona study.
Authorities in the violent state of Veracruz found on Tuesday the body of reporter Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz, who was missing since last week. Four people allegedly linked to his murder are in custody, reported Mexican daily El Universal.
Journalists in several Mexican states and other countries continue to demand the safe release of Veracruz reporter Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz, kidnapped on Feb. 5, through public protests in multiple cities and social media campaigns, according to newspaper El Universal.
The Mexican government's Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists reported having benefited 210 individuals and three non-profit organizations since its creation in November 2012.
Mexican journalist Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz, a reporter who covers the crime beat in the dangerous southeastern state of Veracruz, was kidnapped on Feb. 5 near his home by a group of armed men, news magazine Proceso reported.
A Mexican journalist accused the government of the state of Chiapas of trying to intimidate her news team through legal actions against a family member.
Mexican journalist Sofía Valdivia reported that she is being investigated by the country's Office of the General Prosecutor (PGR in Spanish) for posting on her Twitter account about the possible return of a criminal group in Oaxaca, news site Animal Político reported.
Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission will investigate the Jan. 23 murder of a journalist in Guerrero. It is the first killing of a journalist in Mexico this year.
A group of journalists covering the expansion of vigilante groups in the Mexican state of Michoacán became stranded in a local town after being caught in crossfire this weekend, reported freedom of expression organization Article 19.