A journalist was shot and killed Tuesday night in western Mexico, the local prosecutor’s office said, in a part of the country hit hard by drug violence.
Mauricio Cruz Solis, a presenter at the local radio station La Poderosa Uruapan who also published news on the Minuto x Minuto outlet, was killed in the western city of Uruapan. Michoacán.
Another person was injured in the attack, the prosecutor’s office said.
The radio station where Cruz Solis worked mourned his death in a statement published on social media.
“Mauricio was more than a colleague, he was an unconditional friend, a source of inspiration and a tireless voice in serving our community,” said the station. “We will always miss you Mauricio. Thank you for everything you have done for us.”
Plagued by violence related to drug trafficking, Mexico is one of the countries the most dangerous countries for journalistsmedia groups said.
Reporters Without Borders says more than 150 people have been killed in Mexico since 1994 — and 2022 was one of the the deadliest age of all of Mexican journalists, at least 15 were killed.
The killing of Cruz Solis is the first time a journalist has been killed under the government of Claudia Sheinbaumwho took office on October 1, although there have been other attacks on the media this month.
On October 18, gunmen opened fire in front of the office of the newspaper El Debate in Culiacan, the state capital. Sinaloawhich has been shaken by weeks of gang warfare.
A day later, a delivery worker who owns the store was kidnapped by suspected gangs and there has been no word on his whereabouts.
Media workers always referred to Mexicooften taking direct revenge for their work covering topics such as corruption and the country’s violent drug traffickers.
In August, a Mexican journalist wrote one of the country’s most dangerous crime stories killed by gunmenand two of his bodyguards who were assigned by the government were injured.
In April, Roberto Figueroa, who covered local political news and gained social media following funny videos. He was found dead in the car in his hometown of Huitzilac in Morelos, a district south of Mexico City where drug-related violence is rampant.
All but a handful of murders and kidnappings remain unsolved.
“Impunity is the norm for crimes against the media,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report on Mexico in March.