Luis Ángel López was shot and killed on June 11, 2026, in Poza Rica, a city in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, according to news reports and a statement on Facebook released by the Veracruz State Commission for Attention to and Protection of Journalists (CEAPP) on the same day. According to the reports, López, a reporter for regional newspaper Vanguardia, was killed by unknown assailants at approximately 1 a.m. on June 11. The attack took place on the same road where journalist Carlos Castro was shot and killed in January of this year, as CPJ had previously reported.
López covered crime and violence in Poza Rica and its surrounding areas for Vanguardia, according to a statement published by the newspaper itself on its Facebook page. CPJ was unable to find specific articles written by López on Vanguardia's website, as most articles on crime and security do not carry a byline. Several telephone calls by CPJ to the paper for comment were not answered.
The newspaper reported on the same day as the killing that López had received threats and was incorporated by the CEAPP in a state-sponsored protection program. In another article, the paper said that unspecificed 'clashes' between the reporter and municipal police officers in Poza Rica were one of the lines of investigation of the Veracruz state prosecutor's office (FGE).
Luis Baqueiro, the president of the CEAPP, clarified to CPJ via messaging app that López had received some financial assistance from his agency, but that he had not been subject to any protection measures. An official for the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, an agency of the Mexican federal government, told CPJ via messaging app that his office was unaware of any threats against López's life.
Several telephone calls by CPJ to the Veracruz state prosecutor's office for comment were not answered.