In a deeply troubling development, a Mexican journalist was fatally shot in a store parking lot on Saturday in the southern tourist town of Acapulco, making him the country’s second journalist to be killed within a week. Nelson Matus, the director of news outlet Lo Real de Guerrero, was attacked as he was entering his car in a thrift shop parking lot.
Regional authorities have launched an investigation into the killing, treating it as a homicide with a firearm. This tragic incident follows the recent death of another journalist, Luis Martin Sanchez, whose body was discovered with signs of violence after he had been reported missing.
The state prosecutor’s office in Guerrero issued a statement expressing its commitment to thoroughly investigate Matus’s death, vowing to exhaust every line of inquiry to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Matus, who had dedicated 15 years to journalism, focused primarily on covering violence in Mexico, an occupation that comes with considerable risks. Mexico is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous countries for members of the press, with over 150 journalists killed since 2000. Many of these attacks are linked to powerful drug cartels.
The state of Guerrero, in particular, grapples with high levels of violence, leaving journalists in the region even more vulnerable. Balbina Flores, the Mexico delegate for the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders, noted that many journalists from Guerrero have been forced to relocate within the country or seek refuge abroad due to threats and attacks.
The murder of Sanchez, a correspondent for La Jornada newspaper, further underscored the dangers faced by journalists. La Jornada, a leftist newspaper founded in 1985, has already lost two well-known correspondents, Miroslava Breach and Javier Valdez, to acts of violence in recent years.
The alarming number of journalist killings in Mexico prompted dozens of journalists to stage demonstrations in Mexico City and other areas, demanding justice and an end to the impunity that often surrounds these crimes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also condemned Sanchez’s murder, calling for a prompt, thorough, independent, and effective investigation.
