Roberto Carlos Figueroa was found dead on April 26, 2024, inside his vehicle in Coajomulco, north of the Morelos state capital, Cuernavaca, some 25 miles south of Mexico City.
Unidentified armed individuals abducted Figueroa that morning after he dropped his daughters off at school in Cuernavaca, according to news reports. Those reports said captors contacted his wife on at least three occasions and demanded an undisclosed amount in ransom in exchange for his release, which she fulfilled.
Figueroa, 40, was founder and editor of Acá en el Show, a satirical and critical news outlet that publishes on Facebook. He posted news and commentary about local politics, as well as satirical and humorous videos critical of local politicians, including Morelos Governor Cuauhtémoc Blanco.
On the day of his abduction and killing, Figueroa posted a short video on Acá en el Show, announcing that he had information on corruption involving candidates for the upcoming June 2 state and federal elections.
“He [Figueroa] was very sharp in his criticism of politicians,” Morelos-based journalist José Montes told CPJ.
Figueroa was a trained biologist and former government official who moved into journalism and online content creation after the 2018 state and general elections, Montes told CPJ, adding that he became friends with Figueroa after the journalist was his supervisor when they worked in the Morelos state government.
Montes told CPJ that he was not aware of any threats against Figueroa’s life and said the journalist did not seem unusually worried or stressed in the days before his death. Montes noted that there were two break-ins in Figueroa’s office in November and December of last year, but nothing was reported stolen.
An official with the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists — which operates out of Mexico City under the auspices of the federal government and provides state-sanctioned protection to journalists and rights defenders at risk — told CPJ on April 26, 2024, that the office had no prior knowledge of any threats against Figueroa. The official asked CPJ to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to comment.
Morelos state prosecutor Uriel Carmona Gándara told journalists during an April 29, 2024, press conference that Figuero’s death was possibly linked to his work as a reporter but did not provide further details.
CPJ’s several phone calls to the prosecutor’s office to request further comment were unanswered.