Julio Valdivia
The body of Julio Valdivia, a reporter for the Córdoba-based El Mundo newspaper, was found in the afternoon of September 9, 2020, in the municipality of Tezonapa, in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, according to news reports. Valdivia’s body, which had been beheaded, was found near train tracks in the town of Motzorongo at about 2:30 p.m.,…
Police militarization (and wildfires) put U.S. journalists at risk
An increasingly militarized police presence at protests across the United States creates a dangerous reporting environment, journalists told CPJ. Those covering unrest in the U.S. are encouraged to consult CPJ’s new legal guide, which explains the rights of journalists when confronted by law enforcement while covering a protest or political event. Female journalists in Pakistan…
CNN team arrested while covering Minneapolis protests
This morning, Minnesota police officers arrested a CNN crew covering protests in Minneapolis while they were live on air, as seen in a video from the broadcaster. The crew was released about an hour later. CPJ issued a statement condemning the arrests. As protests continue in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, CPJ is concerned about the police department’s use of rubber bullets and…
Maria Elena Ferral Hernández
On March 30, 2020, two men on a motorcycle shot Maria Elena Ferral Hernández at least three times while she was leaving the office of a local notary in the city of Papantla, in Veracruz state, according to news reports. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she died while undergoing surgery, according to Ana Laura…
Jorge Celestino Ruiz Vázquez
Jorge Celestino Ruiz Vázquez, a reporter for the newspaper El Gráfico, was shot dead on August 2, 2019, in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz. Attackers shot the reporter in a convenience store that he owned in La Bocanita, a small town in Actopán, at approximately 9:15 p.m, according to police statements given to the Mexico City paper El Universal and…
Leobardo Vázquez Atzin
Unknown assailants shot and killed Leobardo Vázquez Atzin on the evening of March 21, 2018, in a restaurant that he owned in Gutiérrez Zamora, a town approximately 200 miles east of Mexico City, according to news reports and Veracruz state authorities. In February of that year, the reporter had started to write about regional crime, corruption, and general news exclusively on…
Edwin Rivera Paz
Two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle shot dead Edwin Rivera Paz on the afternoon of July 9, 2017, in the city of Acayucan in Mexico’s Veracruz state, according to news reports that cited an anonymous witness. The journalist died from multiple gunshot wounds, the reports said. Rivera Paz’s half-brother Pablo Rivera Cabrera, who was living…
Cándido Ríos Vázquez
Unknown gunmen on August 22 attacked Cándido Ríos Vázquez in a drive-by shooting outside a convenience store in Juan Díaz Covarrubias, a town in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, according to news reports. The journalist died en route to the hospital. The Veracruz attorney general’s office said in a statement that two other men were with Ríos…
Ricardo Monlui Cabrera
Ricardo Monlui Cabrera was shot to death on the morning of March 19, 2017, in the municipality of Yanga, in the eastern state of Veracruz, as he left a restaurant where he had eaten with his wife and son. He was 57. Monlui, a resident of the city of Córdoba, was the editorial director of…
Manuel Gabriel Fonseca Hernández
Fonseca was last seen leaving his house in Acayucán, Veracruz state, to cover an event for the daily El Mañanero on September 17, according to local news reports. He has not been heard from since. Relatives of the Mexican journalist first reported him missing on September 21, police records show. Fonseca, 18, covered the police…