Mexico: Mexican Journalist Found Dead With Blow to the Head, Marks the 14th Media Worker Killed This Year

A Mexican journalist's body was discovered in the border city of San Luis Rio Colorado in northern Mexico, state prosecutors said Tuesday.

The Washington Post reported that independent Mexican journalist Juan Arjon Lopez was the 14th media worker killed in Mexico this year, which was the deadliest "in recent memory" for journalists.

Prosecutors in Sonora state noted that the tattoos found on the dead body matched those of Lopez, who was killed by a blow to the head. In a statement, the state Public Ministry said that based on the autopsy, the Mexican journalist died from "head trauma due to a blunt blow."

Sonora state chief prosecutor, Claudia Contreras, noted that authorities were investigating to know if the killing was related to Lopez's work as a journalist. Border town Yuma in Arizona is close to San Luis, which recently faced a wave of violence from Mexican drug cartels.

Mexico has been considered one of the most dangerous countries for media workers outside the war zone. In early August, a Mexican journalist and three other people were killed inside a bar in central Mexico state.

Mexican Journalist Killed in a Bar Shooting

Ernesto Mendez was the 13th Mexican journalist killed, as Guanajuato Gov. Diego Rodriguez Vallejo announced. According to Al Jazeera, Mendez was among four people who were shot dead early this month after a group of gunmen stormed a bar, which the journalist also owned in San Luis de la Paz town.

Mendez was the director of the local outlet Tu Voz and formerly worked at the news site Zona Franca years ago, according to the news site's director Carmen Martinez.

Human rights organization Article 19 noted that Mendez had previously received threats. The mayor of the town, Luis Gerardo Sanchez, earlier said in a news conference that the journalist was among those killed inside the establishment.

He added that one person was also wounded. It was not reported whether Mendez was part of the Mexican government's protection program for media workers and human rights defenders.

Before Mendez's killing was reported, Antonio de la Cruz, 47, was killed about a month before. De la Cruz was shot and killed outside his Ciudad Victoria home in northeastern Mexico.

De la Cruz was a reporter for the local newspaper Expresso for almost three decades, wherein he covered all kinds of news, including security matters.

Killings of Media Workers in Mexico

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the danger for journalists in Mexico is similar to war zones in Syria and Afghanistan. Journalists reported 692 threats, attacks, and other types of aggression in 2020.

The federal Special Prosecutor's Office has opened more than 3,362 investigations, brought 256 charges for crimes, and got 25 convictions since its creation in 2010 until August 2021.

HRW has called on Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to address the rising violence against journalists in Mexico. At least 33 journalists were killed in connection to their work since Lopez Obrador took the position of president in December 2018, according to Article 19.

Tyler Mattiace, an Americas researcher at HRW, said Lopez Obrador not only failed to respond to the violence against media workers but has also harassed and intimidated Mexican journalists through his daily morning news conferences.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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