Study: 337 Reporters and Activists Killed in Mexico Under López Obrador
MEXICO · PRESS FREEDOM
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico, where Andrés Manuel López Obrador was president from December 2018 to September 2024. His ally Claudia Sheinbaum now governs.
- —Why it matters Journalists in Mexico have long faced some of the world’s highest murder rates. The new study argues the violence under López Obrador was not random.
- —What happened On Thursday 24 September, the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley published a platform counting 337 journalists and rights defenders killed during his term.
- —The numbers 78 journalists and 259 human rights defenders, according to the study. It puts impunity for crimes against both groups at 93 to 99 percent.
- —What it means for you No court case exists. The researchers say they dropped a planned submission to the International Criminal Court because of US sanctions on it.
- —Still open Whether any prosecutor, in Mexico or abroad, takes up the material, and how López Obrador and the government respond.
A university study says 337 journalists and human rights defenders were killed in Mexico while Andrés Manuel López Obrador was president. Its authors argue that attacks on journalists in Mexico formed a pattern that could be examined as crimes against humanity.
The Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley published the findings on Thursday 24 September, El Universal and Expansión reported. These are the researchers’ conclusions, not the findings of any court.
What the study claims
Of the 337 dead, 78 were journalists and 259 were rights defenders, according to both El Universal and Aristegui Noticias. El Universal noted that Article 19, which tracks attacks on journalists in Mexico, had counted 46 or 47 killed.
The study says a secret military intelligence centre used Pegasus spyware and other tools without court orders, El Universal and Expansión reported. López Obrador repeatedly said his government did not spy on journalists.
It also accuses him of using his daily televised press conferences, known as the mañaneras, to single out named reporters as enemies. The researchers say they analysed more than 1,400 of them with the help of AI software.
The international court route
The material was first prepared for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which tries crimes against humanity. Mexico accepted the court’s jurisdiction by ratifying its founding treaty in 2005, Aristegui Noticias noted.
Lindsay Freeman, a senior director at the centre, told Aristegui that US sanctions on the court made working with it a “legal risk”. The team published everything online instead.
“It really looks like a concerted campaign against the people trying to hold power to account,” Freeman told Aristegui. That is her assessment; no prosecutor has opened a case.
A reporter under threat the same week
On the day the study appeared, investigative reporter Anabel Hernández presented her new book, “Narcocracia”, in Mexico City. It accuses officials of ties to drug cartels.
She said she had received death threats, Aristegui reported. She held President Claudia Sheinbaum and the ruling Morena party responsible for her safety.
She said the federal protection scheme for journalists had stepped up her security, Aristegui reported. Alianza de Medios MX, a news site, reported that she had been admitted to the scheme.
What Is Not Yet Known
None of the outlets that covered the study carried a response from López Obrador or from the Sheinbaum government. It is not known whether Mexican prosecutors will review the cases.
It is also unclear whether anyone will bring the material to the International Criminal Court, and whether the court would act. Hernández’s allegations remain untested in court.
See also Who Is Claudia Sheinbaum? Mexico’s President Explained and Mexico’s President Rejects Foreign Meddling as She Nears Two Years in Power.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Berkeley study count?
337 journalists and rights defenders killed in Mexico during López Obrador’s term — 78 journalists and 259 human rights defenders.
What is the impunity rate?
The study puts impunity for crimes against both groups at 93 to 99 percent.
Will the case go to the International Criminal Court?
No. The researchers say they dropped a planned ICC submission because of US sanctions on the court.
Who published the study?
The Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, on 24 September.
Sources: Aristegui Noticias, 28 September 2026; El Universal, 24 September 2026; Expansión Política, 25 September 2026; Aristegui Noticias, 27 September 2026; Alianza de Medios MX, 24 September 2026.
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