Mexican Journalist Investigating Murder Shot Dead; Second Such Killing This Month

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A Mexican reporter who wrote about violent crime in the central state of Guanajuato died of gunshot wounds on Monday, local authorities confirmed, in the second murder of a journalist in less than a month.

The 31-year-old Israel Vazquez was attacked as he arrived to collect information about the discovery of a dismembered corpse, the newspaper El Sol de Mexico quoted police as saying.

Apparently, those responsible for the crime were still on the scene when Mr Vasquez arrived. When he approached the site in a car clearly marked with the newspaper’s logo, two armed people forced him to get out and shot him. Mr Vazquez suffered a perforated lung and underwent surgery at a local hospital, but did not survive.

“It was really cowardly … We’re in shock,” said a colleague, who declined to be identified. It was not immediately clear why Vazquez was targeted or who was behind the attack.

The Guanajuato prosecutor’s office confirmed Vazquez’s death and State Governor Diego Rodriguez on Twitter promised his family support and protection.

Mexico, a country plagued by organised crime and violence has a record of over 36,000 murders in 2019. So far this year, the Observatory of Killed Journalists, which is maintained by the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has five victims registered in Mexico.

Vazquez is not included in that tally.