There are 16 arrested for the murders of six journalists in 2022

2022 has been an extremely violent year for the journalistic union in Mexico. Eight journalists have been killed in the first three months: two in Tijuana, one in Veracruz, two in Michoacán, one in Oaxaca, one in Zacatecas and one in Sonora.

The journalists killed in the first quarter of 2022 are: José Luis Gamboa, Margarito Martinez, Lourdes Maldonado, Roberto Toledo, Heber López, Jorge Luis Camero, Juan Carlos Muñiz and Armando Linares.

In January, four journalists were killed, two journalists were killed in February and two so far in March. Most cases have occurred about a week apart.

However, the alleged perpetrators have not been arrested in all cases, since only four out of eight murders have made progress in this area. In total, there are 16 persons who have been arrested and linked to the trial.

This was announced by the Undersecretary of Public Security, Ricardo Mejía Berdeja, at the morning conference from the National Palace on Thursday, March 17. However, only six journalists are included in the list. The cases of Roberto Toledo and Jorge Luis Camero were not taken into account.

In the murders of José Luis Gamboa, which was the first of the year (10 January), and Armando Linares, the most recent (15 March), no alleged perpetrators have yet been arrested. The first was attacked on January 10 in an alleged assault on the Floresta subdivision, in the port of Veracruz.

Meanwhile, Linares López, who was the director of Monitor Michoacán, was killed in Zitácuaro, Michoacán. According to local media, Armando had previously reported threats against him. According to the Undersecretary for Human Rights, Population and Migration, Alejandro Encinas, Linares did not accept federal protection, even though Roberto Toledo, another collaborator of the same media outlet, had been killed on 31 January.

The case in which the greatest progress has been made is that of Margarito Martínez, who was killed in Tijuana, Baja California, on January 17. So far, 10 suspects have been arrested. Martínez Esquivel was a police note photographer for Semanario Zeta. The 49-year-old photojournalist was killed outside his home, on Calle 5 de Mayo in the Camino Verde neighborhood. When police and Red Cross elements arrived at the scene, they found his body on the side of a Ford vehicle.

As for the murder of Lourdes Maldonado, recorded in Tijuana on January 23 (one week after Margarito's), three people have been arrested and linked to the trial. Maldonado López had come in 2019 with President Andrés Manuel to express his concern about his situation. “I come here to ask you for support, help and labor justice, because I even fear for my life,” he denounced. Lourdes was enrolled in the Protection Programme for Human Rights Defenders.

Regarding the murder of Heber López (10 February), 2 people were arrested and linked to trial. Lopez Vazquez had a Facebook page called Web News. As he was leaving a studio he was remodeling, two subjects shot him in the municipality of Salinas Cruz, Oaxaca.

Finally, with regard to the murder of Juan Carlos Muñiz (which occurred on March 4 in Fresnillo, Zacatecas), one person was arrested. Rigoberto, as he was known, was intercepted by a couple of guys when he was working on his second job as a taxi driver. Even though he was carrying a ticket, he was executed.

According to Article 19, from 2000 to 2022, 152 journalists have been killed in Mexico “in possible connection” with their profession, of which 140 were men and 12 women. Of the total, 32 were registered in the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and 47 in the government of Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), 48 in that of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) and 22 in the six-year term of Vicente Fox (2000-2006).

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