Journalist Killings in Mexico at Worst Level, OAS Rights Group Says

The InterAmerican Commission of Human Rights said in a report that Mexico is suffering "critical" failures in law enforcement and the worst level of journalist killings on the outside of a war zone.

The InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights is a body of the Organization of American States. On Sunday, the Mexican government said that it is working to strengthen its efforts in the areas mentioned by the commission, Associated Press reported.

The cited areas reportedly include lack of access to justice, poor militarization of law enforcement, and weak police forces.

The report lauded Mexico's efforts to search for people victims of forced disappearances. However, it argued that the government still relies heavily on volunteer efforts.

"Threats, harassment, killings, and disappearances of those who seek truth and justice have intimidated the Mexican public... creating a big problem with under-reporting (of crimes)," the report noted.

The commission has recommended that Mexico develop concrete plans for the slow withdrawal of the armed forces from civilian law enforcement and shift it over to civilian police.

Journalist Killings

A 31-year-old journalist was shot dead in November 2020 while he was reporting in Salamanca. His story focused on the discovery of human remains in the city. His name was Israel Vázquez Rangel. Vázquez worked for the news website El Salmantino.

According to a BBC News report, over a hundred journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000, making the country one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

"You want to kill a journalist, you can do it without much of a chance that you'll be caught," Jan-Albert Hootsen, Mexico representative of the press freedom group the Committee to Protect Journalists, said as reported by The Guardian.

Hootsen noted that the journalists' murders were directly related to their work in at least five cases. He added that there is an ongoing crisis of violence and impunity in the country.

Hootsen said the Mexican government had not made any serious efforts to fight impunity, adding that the situation has become worse.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that Mexico suffered the highest number of killings in 2019, next to war-torn Syria.

In 2012, Mexico established a journalistic program to aid threatened reporters. However, Sara Lidia Mendiola said that the protection program is not enough, according to an NPR report.

Mendiola manages a legal advocacy organization for journalists. The organization is known to be called Propuesta Cívica. She said that with the current climate violence taking over the country, it is not enough.

Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had vowed to end impunity against journalists when he took office. However, press advocates said that the president had made no progress and might be exacerbating the situation. Local mayors and officials have different comments regarding the matter.

The local mayor of Salamanca at the time of Vázquez's death released a statement, connoting that it was the journalist's fault for his death. Mayor Betty Hernández said that everyone knows the place is dangerous.

Verónica Espinosa, Guanajuato correspondent for the newsweekly Proceso, said that it implied that victims like Vázquez's are culpable for their own deaths.

Espinosa said that it criminalizes him and makes him responsible for security conditions, which is not the liability of a citizen.

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