The government of Mexico has arrested the alleged mastermind in the killings of Mexican journalists Margarito Martinez and Lourdes Maldonado Lopez in January.

According to Voice of America News, the accused mastermind is also an alleged drug trafficker. The Mexican government announced the detainment of the suspect on Thursday.

Martinez is a photojournalist killed on the northern border, while Maldonado Lopez is the second Mexican journalist killed in Tijuana.

The suspect was identified as "David N" and was detained on Wednesday with two other people in the northern state of Nuevo Leon, according to Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejia.

Mejia told reporters that David N is allegedly the "intellectual author" of Martinez's murder and is also a cell leader of the Arellano Felix drug cartel.

Maldonado Lopez was killed by the same cartel members less than a week after complaining about drug trafficking in her neighborhood in Tijuana. The Deputy Security Minister did not reveal the possible motive of the accused for the murder of the Mexican journalists.

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Deaths of Mexican Journalists Margarito Martinez and Lourdes Maldonado Lopez

Margarito Martinez had returned briefly to his home from an assignment earlier that day on January 22. According to the photojournalist's colleague and close friend, he was about to head out again to take more photos when he was ambushed.

Committee to Protect Journalists noted that Martinez was a veteran photographer and had over two decades of experience as a reporter in Tijuana. He worked for both Mexican and foreign news outlets as a freelancer, specializing in photographing crime scenes.

His works appeared in local news weekly Zeta Tijuana, La Jornada de Baja California newspaper, and on the news website Cadena Noticias. Martinez had reported threats on several occasions and reached out to state and federal officials in December.

Lourdes Maldonado Lopez  was the second Mexican journalist killed in Tijuana less than a week after Martinez was killed. She was attacked "with a firearm while she was in a vehicle," according to the prosecutor's office of the state of Baja California.

Al Jazeera reported that Maldonado Lopez asked Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for "support, and help" as she feared for her life, according to a republished video on social media.

Maldonado Lopez was reported to be referring to a lawsuit against her former employer, a news organization owned by a former Baja California governor. It was Primer Sistema de Noticias.

The Mexican journalist won the lawsuit days before her murder. The lawsuit alleged unfair dismissal.

She was previously registered in a government protection program for journalists, which included police surveillance of her home, according to a source knowledgeable of the case.

Murder of Mexican Journalists in Mexico

Reporters Without Borders classified Mexico as one of the deadliest countries in the world outside of war zones.

The violence in Tijuana is blamed on drug cartels, killing journalists to discourage them from investigating or reporting on their dealings or links to state or federal officials.

Currently, 15 Mexican journalists have been killed in 2022, marking one of the deadliest years for Mexico's members of the press.

The 15th Mexican journalist was a local reporter who ran an online news program. The journalist was shot dead in Mexico's southern state of Guerrero earlier this week.

READ MORE: Mexico: 9th Mexican Journalist Killed This Year Found Wrapped in Black Bag on Sinaloa Road

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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