Veracruz

By Carlos Lauría/CPJ Senior Americas Program Coordinator

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published, in Spanish, on Univision.com.

The state of Veracruz has become one of the world's most lethal regions for the press. According to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists, when you include the case of Anabel Flores Salazar, whose body was found on Tuesday, at least 12 journalists have been murdered in Veracruz since Javier Duarte de Ochoa become governor in 2010. Three more have disappeared, their whereabouts unknown. Other free expression groups, using different criteria, have documented higher numbers.

New York, February 9, 2016--The body of Anabel Flores Salazar, a reporter for El Sol de Orizaba who was abducted from her home near the city of Orizaba in Veracruz on Monday, was found today in the neighboring state of Puebla, according to a Puebla state official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mexican federal authorities to take over investigation and prosecution of the crime and to consider journalism as a motive.

CPJ's 2015 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free

Published October 8, 2015

The ambush of a convoy in South Sudan and the hacking deaths of bloggers in Bangladesh this year propelled the two nations onto CPJ's Global Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are murdered and their killers go unpunished. Colombia exited the index as fatal violence against journalists receded further into that country's past.

For the first time since CPJ began compiling the index in 2008, Iraq did not claim the title of worst offender, as Somalia edged into that spot. The shift reflects a steady death toll in Somalia, where one or more journalists have been murdered every year over the past decade, and the government has proved unable or unwilling to investigate the attacks.

By Carlos Lauría/Americas Senior Program Coordinator

The July 31 murder of Mexican photographer Rubén Espinosa hit the press freedom community really hard. Espinosa, who was found in an apartment with four female victims--all of them shot in the head--had fled the state of Veracruz in June and sought refuge in Mexico City, where he thought he would be safe from threats and intimidation.

Mexico City, August 3, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Mexican photojournalist Rubén Espinosa and calls on authorities to investigative all motives in the killing and ensure the perpetrators are held to account. Espinosa, who had fled to the capital from Veracruz state after receiving threats, was found murdered in a Mexico City apartment on Friday, according to news reports.

New York, July 7, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mexican authorities in the state of Veracruz to consider journalism as a motive in the death last week of Mexican journalist Juan Mendoza Delgado, investigate the case thoroughly, and ensure the killers are brought to justice.

Mexico City, May 6, 2015--The body of Veracruz radio journalist Armando Saldaña Morales was found on Monday in the neighboring Mexican state of Oaxaca, according to the Oaxaca state attorney general's office and news reports. The journalist had been shot dead, the reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder and calls on authorities to identify the motive in the killing and ensure the perpetrators are held to account.

Mexico City, January 29, 2015--The decapitated body of Mexican journalist José Moisés Sánchez Cerezo was found early Saturday in Veracruz state, according to a statement from the state attorney general's office. The journalist and owner of the newspaper La Unión had been missing since January 2.

New York, January 5, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the abduction of Mexican journalist José Moisés Sánchez Cerezo and calls on authorities to do their utmost to find him and apprehend the perpetrators.

Mexico City, August 13, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder on Monday of Mexican reporter Octavio Rojas Hernández in the state of Oaxaca and calls on authorities to investigate the killing, identify the motive, and bring those responsible to justice.