Incident
Mexican journalist shot dead, the sixth in 2016
Details
Manuel Santiago Torres González was shot in the head on Saturday (14 May) while walking home in the city of Poza Rica after covering an electoral campaign event in nearby Tuxpan.
Torres González, 48, was a correspondent for TV Azteca and
Radiover.com, and edited his own site, NoticiasMT. He also worked as an assistant in the Veracruz state attorney’s office. He had not received any threats.
He became the sixth journalist murdered in Mexico this year and the second in Veracruz. According to
research by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least six journalists have been killed in direct retribution for their work since Javier Duarte de Ochoa became governor of Veracruz in 2010.
Some eight other journalists who lived or reported in Veracruz have been killed for unclear reasons in the same time period, while three other journalists from the state have been reported missing.
The state on Mexico’s eastern seaboard is a hub for drug and human trafficking, and Poza Rica has often been the focal point of violent clashes between drug cartels.
Carlos Lauría, CPJ’s senior programme coordinator for the
Americas, called on Mexico’s authorities to “thoroughly investigate” the murder of Torres González, adding: “Veracruz has become the most deadly state for journalists in one of the most dangerous countries for journalists worldwide.”
And Emmanuel Colombié, of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said: “We call on all defenders of freedom of information to support Mexican journalists and denounce this death spiral.”
The two press freedom organisations rank
Mexico as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
