Andrés Manuel López Obrador, (C) Le Monde
It is a difficult year for journalists in Mexico. Seven of them have been assassinated already in different parts of the country. There were nine reporters killed for the whole year in 2021. Multiple other assassination attempts failed. Do I have to remind everyone that we are only in March? To understand why Mexico is the most dangerous country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere, let us get a look at the cases. We will also analyze what the government is doing to prevent these murders.
January 10 is the date everything started. A citizen found a dead body in the Port City of Veracruz Floresta neighbourhood. The victim had at least seven stab wounds. Days later, they were able to confirm the identity of the body. It was José Luis Gamboa Arenas, a periodista for multiple news outlets but well known for his work at La Noticia, the Semanario Zeta, a magazine based in Tijuana, and as director of the Inforegio. He had forty-five years old. It is difficult to know for the moment who killed Gamboa, as the information given is minimal. What we know, is that the Jalisco and Sinaloa Cartels are very active in the regions.
On January 17, a second journalist was killed. This incident happened in the country's most dangerous city for reporters: Tijuana. Margarito MartÃnez Esquivel, 49 years old, was founded dead in the Colonia Camino Verde, in front of his home. He was found by his daughter. MartÃnez was shot three times. He was well known as a photographer and fixer in and out of Mexico, working for the Inforegio and multiple international news outlets. We assume he was killed for his work, but it cannot be confirmed for the moment. On February 25, ten individuals have been arrested concerning his killings. They found many interesting things at their residences, such as drugs and weapons. The investigation is still underway. The Sinaloa Cartel is very active in Tijuana because of its access to the United States. The Jalisco Cartel also has a presence, but in the southern part of Baja California only.
Another killing happened in Tijuana not long after the murder of MartÃnez. On January 23, Lourdes Maldonado López was found dead in the Calle Vista Dorada de la Privada Chalco. She was 67 years old. Maldonado was shot multiple times and was well known to have worked for the Primer Sistema de Noticias (PSN). Her case is slightly different than the others. A couple of days before being assassinated, she had won in court against her former employer, Jaime Bonilla, owner of PSN. The trial was related to a wage dispute between the two, and she was awarded twenty thousand dollars, which is a lot for them. We cannot confirm if he is related to her murder or if it is the cartels. Three individuals have been arrested and accused of her murder. The prosecutor for the State of Baja California said that the trio had taken a cab and was hiding for three hours before she arrived home and killed her. The problem with this case is that she was technically under the protection of the government. She asked for protection directly from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during a press conference in 2019 and automatically get it. It is unclear where the persons doing surveillance were at the time, but a lot of journalists alleged they only received an emergency flip phone and had nothing else.
Slideshow: Journalist killed in Mexico, (C) Committee to Protect Journalists
A fourth one occurred not long after, this time in Zitácuaro, a city in the State of Michoacán. It happened at the entrance of the news outlet building, which is shared with a lawyer’s office, having the same director. Roberto Toledo, 55 years old, was working primarily for the Monitor Michoacano. On January 31, when he arrived at the building, people were waiting for him at the entrance. They talk a bit, and he entered the front yard. He was shot multiple times. They ran away on their motorcycle. However, one of the individuals before leaving put a sign on the crime scene with a message on it. The authorities said this has been attributed to the cartels.
Four journalists were killed in January.
On February 10, the assassinations continued. Heber López, 39 years old, was founded dead in Barrio El Espinal, in the city of Salina Cruz. It is located in the southern part of the State of Oaxaca. He was shot as he entered his recording studio, doing news podcasts for his audience. López was working for Noticias Web, his medium, and covered most of coastal Oaxaca. The day before his killing, he had written a short article about a past Salina Cruz representative and accused her of corruption. We do not know if it is related to his death. For the moment, the Jalisco Cartel has a lot of influence in the area, but it is also a disputed part of the country between multiple organizations.
On February 24, it continued, again. Jorge Camero, 28 years old, was found dead in Barrio Libertad in the city of Empalme. It is located in the State of Sonora. Camero was shot multiple times as he entered a gym. Before being a periodista, he was working for the mayor’s office of Empalme. Camero left when he felt changes needed to occur in the local political scene. At the time of his death, he was working for El Informativo. As it is still recent, there is no other information about the case at the moment.
Two journalists were killed in February.
This Friday, the last killing happened. Juan Carlos Muñiz was founded dead in Los Olivos, a neighbourhood of Fresnillo, in the State of Zacatecas. He was shot multiple times. Muñiz was working for Testigo Minero and was also a cab driver to be able to pay all his bills. For the moment, as it happened two days ago, it is difficult to know the motives or speculate. However, what we know is that the State of Zacatecas is one of the most violent states. The investigation continues as of now.
One journalist was killed in March…for the moment.
Journalist Saying "Press, Do not Shoot", (C) The Guardian
What was the turning point of this increase in violence and what the government is doing to prevent that?
The biggest threat to the cartels and politicians is the periodistas of the country. It has long been proven, even before the Gallardo era, that politicians are corrupt and often side with the cartels. They want to silence those who can prove their wrongdoing. Journalists in countries like Mexico are at the front of everything. They often work alone or in small news corporations. Most of them have to work another job to have enough money to pay their bills. It is difficult to say why this year is worse than the others. However, what we can say is that the mandate of President Felipe Calderón from 2006 to 2012 was a big turning point.
During his presidency, Felipe Calderón sent military troops to multiple areas of the country controlled by different cartels. The goal was to eradicate them. Instead, it split them, and the traffic grew. Thousands of people died on all sides: military personnel; cartel members; politicians; and civilians. The official number of deaths by the governments is sixty thousand, but some others think it is more than double if we count the disappearance as dead too. The government of Mexico received money from the American Congress as funds for the Mérida Initiative, a joint program that aims to combat cartels in Southern United States, Mexico, and Central American countries. However, money is useless when the local officials are corrupt. Mexico should have asked for military assistance from its USMCA allies instead of going solo with full of people against them.
The government instates a protection program for journalists who fear for their life. However, as stated before, it is weak, and it does not work. It is more of a hotline than a protection program, which means by the time someone answers the phone, the journalist is probably already dead. AMLO and Mexico do not care about journalists as they often have bad press, and it is for a reason. This program should be yes, for everyone who needs it, but it should protect it for real, not just on paper, with agents in front of the house or at the corner of the street, for example. However, it should be run by people who are considered incorruptible, to be sure that they are safe. As for the journalist or other important people, it is easy to work with a pseudonym. Mexico has the capacity and should do better to protect its citizens because as of now, it is close to becoming a narco-state.
Mexico is ranked 143rd on 180 for the worst countries for journalists, we know why…
Journalists Killed in Mexico, (C) Tommy-Maurice Gouin