Ibarra,
a photographer for the Iguala newspaper El Correo, and Yenny Yuliana Marchán Arroyo, a contributor to the
local daily Diario 21, were riding a motorcycle to an
assignment around 10 p.m. A gunman aboard a second motorcycle pulled alongside
and fired repeatedly, according to news reports and the special prosecutor for
crimes against journalists.
The
gunman then shot the photographer a final time in the head, police told CPJ.
Ibarra, 33, died at the scene, press reports said. Marchán, 22, was hit three
times and suffered leg wounds. Local journalists told CPJ that Ibarra had
mentioned receiving at least one threat in relation to his work.
In
March 2009, state investigators announced the arrest of a local merchant, Mario
Cereso Barrera, and said the killing had been motivated by a dispute over a
necklace transaction. Local reporters told CPJ they were skeptical about the
investigation, particularly the alleged motive and investigators’ apparent
failure to interview witnesses. Guerrero state human rights officials have
seconded their concerns. Hipólito Lugo Cortes, director of the Guerrero state
human rights commission, issued a statement expressing concern that Cereso had
made self-incriminating statements under duress.
The
Guerrero state attorney general’s office did not respond to CPJ requests for
comment on the case or the accusations made by the local human rights office. Cereso remained in detention
without formal charge as of June 2010.