Jorge Armenta, Mexican journalist and director of digital media outlet Medios Obson was slain on May 16 in Ciudad Obregon and it has been confirmed that it was an armed attack that took his and a police officer's life. The local prosecutor's office has stated that another officer was wounded in the encounter.

Mexico has labeled a notorious place reporters and journalist outside a warzone. Mexico comes second after Syria with around 140 journalists have been slain in the country since 2000. A press freedom summit was held in June 2019 to discuss solutions to end the crisis. The CPJ or the Committee to Protect Journalist which annually tracks journalist deaths has even called for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to strengthen press freedom.

Deadly year for journalists

In countries across the world, murder rates have plummeted as people are kept off the streets and locked inside their homes. However, this is not the case for Mexico. Last March, homicide rates have hit a new high record and violence has spread throughout the country. With the second quarter of the year almost coming to an end, there have been already three journalist deaths in Mexico.

Last April 2, journalist Victor Fernando Alvarez went missing and 10 days later, on April 12 an unknown decapitated body was found in the Port of Acapulco which was close to where his family last saw him. The body was proven to be Alcarez only after conducting forensic tests on the remains. In March, the body of journalist Maria Elena Ferral was found after it was shot five times by two men on motorbikes as she was leaving a meeting. Although she was immediately rushed to the hospital, she did not last the night.

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Despite protection, journalists continue to be slain

Jorge Armenta was already under government protection after he started to receive threats. But this did not save him. The state governor has already urged for an investigation on Armenta's assassination and to find those responsible for this heinous crime.

Journalism is proving to be a life sentence in Mexico and investigative journalism is almost impossible to execute. Those who are brave enough to write about corruption or organized crime are mostly at risk. Majority of the killings are on local journalists but the international press still faces a possibility of endangerment. Since the murder of US video journalist Brad Will in 2006, there has been no harassment of violence against international press. Will was shot while he was filming protests in Oaxaca city, Mexico.

As the country braces itself for the economic and health disasters brought about the COVID-19 pandemic, protection for journalists should not be put aside. When President Obrador came into office in 2018, he made a promise that he will no longer allow the assassination of Mexican journalists, however, the future still seems bleak.

This month marks the death anniversary of slain journalist, Javier Valdez who was assassinated in Sinaloa. In May 2017, was dragged from his vehicle in midday by the Rio Doce office and he was shot 12 times on a busy street. Since then, press people and the public has seen this as a message that if a high profile individual such as Valdez can be killed, anyone can.