Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for information professionals, due in part to the violence of organized crime.
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A journalist was shot dead on Saturday July 15 in Acapulco, southern Mexico. Director of a local news site, Nelson Matus was shot dead in a parking lot near a cheap shop, said the prosecution, which announced the opening of an investigation for “felony of homicide qualified by weapon on fire”, promising to leave no stone unturned.
This Mexican journalist had 15 years of experience. He specialized in covering the violence in the state of Guerrero, in the south-west of the country, explained to AFP the delegate in Mexico of the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Balbina Flores. “He had an introverted character”, especially in times “where covering the violence was tricky”remembers a reporter who met the victim during several reports. “He was always collaborative and personable. He had a lot of connections with many sources”adds this journalist, who says he feels “terrible indignation”.
Thirteen journalists killed in 2022
This is the second murder of a journalist in a week in this country, one of the most dangerous in the world for information professionals. On July 8, reports RFI, the body of Luis Martin Sanchez was found bearing traces of violence, a few days after the disappearance of this daily correspondent. The Day in the state of Nayarit, in the west of the country. On Monday, a few dozen journalists gathered in several cities, including Mexico City, to protest against this assassination. The Mexican office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has requested an investigation “fast, exhaustive, independent and efficient” condemning the assassination of Luis Martin Sanchez.
With 13 journalists killed according to authorities’ count, 2022 was the deadliest year for journalists in Mexico since 2000. The country is one of the most violent in the world, with more than 150 journalists killed since 2000, according to RSF. The Mexican NGO Article 19 has listed since 2000 “160 murders of journalists in Mexico, possibly in relation to their work”. The most affected state is that of Veracruz, with 31 murders of journalists since 2000, especially in the 2010s, according to this same NGO. Guerrero comes second with 15 murders of journalists since 2000, compared to two in the capital Mexico City.