Four journalists killed in Mexico while reporting murder incident
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Mexican officials say men on a motorcycle opened fire in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero state, where the journalists were reporting and covering a murder incident.
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Photos of slain journalists are displayed on a wall during a vigil outside Mexico's Attorney General's office in Mexico City, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022. (AP)
Mexican officials reported that three journalists were shot and three wounded in southern Mexico on Tuesday after men on a motorcycle opened fire in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero state, where the journalists were reporting and covering a murder incident.
Identified as Jesus Antonio de la Cruz, Oscar Guerrero and Victor Mateo Francisco, the journalists succumbed to their injuries to the back, arm, and neck, according to prosecutors.
A fourth journalist was wounded by gunfire in the city of Apatzingan in the neighboring Michoacan state. He was identified as Maynor Ramon Ramirez who previously survived an attack in 2016.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stated that the three wounded individuals were in stable condition, and identified them as journalists who cover stories for different media channels locally.
RSF took to X to call "on the authorities to act quickly to ensure their protection & that of their families."
🚨 #México 🇲🇽 RSF ha sido informada de un ataque a balazos a periodistas en Chilpancingo Guerrero: Víctor Mateo, reportero de seguridad del digital Ahora Guerrero; Oscar Guerrero, de Primer Plano; y Jesús de la Cruz, de El Jaguar. Su estado de salud es estable al momento. (+)
— RSF en español (@RSF_esp) November 28, 2023
A state for slain journalism
According to the RSF, Mexico is one of the most dangerous nations in the world for journalists.
Multiple journalists have been slain in the past year in Mexico.
Earlier this month, photojournalist Ismael Villagomez was shot and killed in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, and three people have been arrested for it.
Before that, a journalist was fatally shot in July in a store parking lot in Acapulco, a popular tourist town in the southern part of the country.
Read next: Mexico's leader slams US offer to combat cartels
The RSF highlighted that more than 150 have been killed since 2000 and only a fraction of the crimes have resulted in convictions.
According to the Mexican government, there were 13 journalist killings reported in 2022 alone, highlighting the prevailing issue of impunity for crimes against journalists in the country.
The victims are often reporters working for local media in states riven by drug cartel-related violence and US arms flow.
