Attacks against journalists continue unabated in Mexico

Expression

In July the body of Luis Martin Sanchez, a veteran correspondent for La Jornada newspaper, was found after he had been reported missing. A journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Luis Martin covered political news in the region, including his last post about the corruption of a prominent local politician. His body was found with two notes suggesting he had been murdered because of his work as a journalist. La Jornada had already lost two of its most widely known correspondents: Miroslava Breach, killed in Chihuahua in March 2017, and Javier Valdez, who was murdered in Sinaloa in May 2017.

On 15th July a journalist was shot and killed in a parking lot in Acapulco. Nelson Matus, the director of news outlet Lo Real de Guerrero, was shot as he was getting into his car outside a store. Matus had worked as a journalist for 15 years, specialising in crime stories. The Guerrero state prosecutor's office said it had opened an investigation into his killing.

In July, two journalists with Crítica ADN media in Nayarit went missing and were later found alive by authorities in two separate incidents. Jonathan Lora Ramírez says armed men broke into his home and kidnapped him on 7th July. One day later he was found unharmed. Osiris Maldonado was reportedly missing for almost a week but was later found alive. Article 19 calls on local authorities to do more to protect journalists in the Nayarit region.

Claudia Guerrero Martínez, a journalist and editor in Guerrero, says she is being falsely investigated by the Veracruz State Prosecutor's Office for her work related to local criminal investigations. She says the investigation against her is likely related to her published work about a person nicknamed "N" who is linked to alleged crimes of corruption. The allegations against her are making it difficult for her to continue to work as a journalist.

Association

In June, two environmentalist activists were killed in separate attacks, and friends and colleagues say the attacks may have been premeditated. The murder of Álvaro Arvizu, who was likely killed with an axe, appeared to be in retaliation for his work defending forests and water resources in the mountains near Mexico City. Two of Arvizu's colleagues were also assaulted in the incident. Friends dismiss claims by authorities that it was a robbery gone wrong as most of the expensive scientific equipment with them was not taken. A day before Arvizu was killed, Cuauhtémoc Márquez, another environmentalist, was also murdered. She had been a beekeeper and had also been active in campaigns against water pollution and extraction and had reported receiving threats.

Peaceful Assembly

On 25th June, thousands of people protested in Mexico City and other cities to demand an end to violence against animals, and to call for stronger penalties in cases of abuse and cruelty. Organised by animal rights organisations, people gathered at the capital’s Zocalo and waved banners and signs with messages like, “No more animal abuse,” “Jail for animal murderers” and “Stiffer penalties for abusers.” Among their demands, protestors say Article 73 of the Constitution, which addresses environmental protection and preservation, should be modified to allow Congress to legislate for animal welfare.

An independent panel of experts investigating the 2014 disappearance of 43 students from a teachers’ college announced they’re withdrawing from the probe because the government failed to give them access to critical information. The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), a collection of doctors and lawyers, was investigating the disappearance of the students. But after presenting their final fact-finding report in early July, the experts said they faced a series of roadblocks by the federal government. “The failure to provide existing information for the investigation of atrocious events such as these, must be denounced by the Prosecutor’s Office and investigated to achieve justice,” the GIEI said.