Miguel Ángel Beltrán’s body was found in the Mexican town of Río Chico, near the state capital of Durango, with a message that read, “For spreading lies about the people of Durango,” according to news reports. Outlets reported that the journalist went to work on October 23 and “that was the last time he was seen.”
CPJ was unable to confirm the contents of the message with the Durango state prosecutor’s office, which did not return a comment request and has not publicly addressed the killing.
Beltrán, 60, was a veteran journalist who previously worked for local newspapers Contexto and La Voz de Durango, according to reports. He developed a social media presence on TikTok and his La Gazzeta Dgo Facebook page, the latter of which has 27,000 followers, and was known for posting short articles and videos on politics and crime in Durango.
In one of his TikTok videos, posted October 21, 2025, Beltrán alleged that a man arrested in the Chihuahua state had ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, which has long had a presence in Durango, according to the Mexican and U.S. governments.
An official with the federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, which coordinates protection for reporters sanctioned by Mexico’s federal government, told CPJ via messaging app that his agency was unaware of any threats against Beltrán’s life and that he had not been in contact with the Mechanism.