#Journalist #murdered #Mexico #12th #year
A Mexican reporter was shot dead in the violence-torn northeastern state of Tamaulipas on Wednesday – the 12th journalist killed in what has been a particularly bloody year for the country’s press.
Antonio de la Cruz, who worked for the newspaper Expreso, had repeatedly denounced alleged acts of corruption by politicians in his social media posts.
His wife and daughter were injured in the attack, which took place as the reporter left his home in Ciudad Victoria.
“We must not allow any further attacks on journalists and activists. These crimes will not go unpunished,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador spokesman Jesus Ramirez tweeted.
Expreso called for “justice from the authorities at all levels”.
In 2018, another journalist from the newspaper, Hector Gonzalez, was beaten to death.
This year is already one of the deadliest for the Mexican press, leading to calls for an end to a culture of impunity.
Doctors were fighting to save the life of De la Cruz’s daughter, state Gov. Francisco Cabeza de Vaca said, urging prosecutors to “make sure this cowardly crime does not go unpunished.”
– ‘Family Man’ –
De la Cruz, who had been a journalist for 15 years, was also a spokesman for a political party, the Citizens’ Movement.
Gustavo Cardenas, a party state lawmaker, described De la Cruz as “a family man, a good man” who had sought to expose alleged corruption by local authorities.
“The main suspects are in the state government… I have no doubt that these men have a significant responsibility,” he said.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders called on authorities to conduct “an immediate investigation” into the murder and determine whether it was linked to De la Cruz’s journalistic work.
Tamaulipas prosecutors confirmed the murder and said they were investigating the case under protocols for dealing with crimes against freedom of expression.
More than 150 journalists have been murdered since 2000 in Mexico, one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the media, with only a fraction of the crimes resulting in convictions.
The United States and the European Parliament have called on Mexico to provide adequate protection for journalists following the recent spate of killings.
Lopez Obrador has sworn “zero impunity” for the crimes.
Before de la Cruz’s murder, the government had assumed nine of that year’s victims were killed because of their media work.
It has reported the arrest of 26 suspects in the murders, nine of whom have been formally charged.
Tamaulipas is one of the Mexican states hardest hit by violence linked to drug cartels, which human rights groups say have repeatedly used attacks to silence the press.
In 2012, a car bomb exploded in front of Expreso’s office, nobody was injured.
In 2018, a human head was left outside his offices.
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#Journalist #murdered #Mexico #12th #year
