Journalist Ricardo Zúñiga Rosas, 35, was attacked and shot inside a business he owned in Santa Cruz Apotoltitlán, a small town within the Thuitzingo municipality, approximately 100 miles southeast of Mexico City, according to news reports. Two attackers approached Zúñiga, fired multiple rounds and fled the scene. The journalist was hit once and died in the hospital of his injuries, according to reports.
Zúñiga was the sixth journalist in Mexico to be killed in less than three months this year and the second in Puebla state that same year, according to CPJ research.
Zúñiga was a photographer and content creator known locally for his multimedia productions covering cultural events, including photos, videos and drone footage, which he shared on his Facebook page with over 13,000 followers, his YouTube channel, and Instagram account. Although he mostly covered cultural and society events, he sometimes posted comments critical of the municipal government, including criticism of local security policies, garbage collection and alleged abusive behavior by local police.
On May 9, 2026, he posted on his Facebook page that he was threatened by individuals, whom he did not identify. who told him that he should stop posting such critical messages and that he should “stay out of politics.”
CPJ made several calls to request comment from Tehuitzingo municipal government, but they were not answered.
Ruth Zenteno, the federal Special Prosecutor for Attention to Crimes Committed against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE), which operates under the auspices of the Federal Attorney General’s office (FGR), told CPJ that state authorities in Puebla had opened an investigation and that her office was in contact with them about the case.
A request for comment via messaging app to the Puebla state prosecutor’s office did not immediately receive a reply.