crime
Second journalist killed in Mexico in eight days
Two journalists have been killed in a short space of time in violence-torn Mexico. (Archive image) Photo: Jair Cabrera Torres/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
According to Reporters Without Borders, Mexico is the most dangerous country for journalists. Two media workers have been killed in the country within a few days. The background is unclear.
A journalist has been killed in Mexico for the second time in the new year. Photojournalist Margarito Martínez was shot dead while leaving his home in Tijuana on Monday, according to initial reports by his wife and media he works for.
The 49-year-old had taken photos for several local and international media in the northwestern Mexican city on the border with the United States, especially for reports on crime. Criminal gangs are active in Tijuana, smuggling drugs and migrants into the United States and kidnapping people.
Quarrel with a neighbor?
The background to the fact was initially unclear. According to colleagues, Martínez had had trouble with a person believed to be involved in drug trafficking. One of Martínez’s employers, Zeta magazine, reported a dispute with a neighbor. Just a week earlier, José Luis Gamboa, the director of an online portal, was killed in the eastern Mexican city of Veracruz – reportedly with a stabbing weapon. Even in this case, the exact background is still unknown.
Mexico most dangerous country for journalists
Mexico was the most dangerous country for journalists for the third year in a row, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders. According to this, seven journalists were killed in connection with their work in the North American country in 2021 – Afghanistan was second with six such cases. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has repeatedly publicly denounced critical journalists as liars.
In the Latin American country, which is home to around 126 million people, there is generally a lot of violence – especially in connection with drug-related crime. Almost 100 murders per day were recently registered, and most of the crimes are never solved.