Press freedom groups rip Sheinbaum after latest journalist murder

MEXICO CITY (CN) — On Friday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the death of Josué Martínez Contreras, the director of online news outlet Noticias San Martín Texmelucan, in the state of Puebla. He is the sixth journalist murdered so far this year in Mexico, and the third in the span of a month.

Martínez Contreras, known locally as “the jaguar,” was shot and killed around 8 a.m. Thursday by two men on a motorcycle who fled the scene. He was just steps away from his home in the town of San Lucas Atoyatenco, Puebla, when the attack occurred. His 13-year-old son was also present but unharmed.

No arrests have been made.

“This morning the case appeared before the cabinet and is under investigation — there’s a video from the journalist that surfaced on social media yesterday — and they’re in communication with the governor. All the necessary investigations must be carried out,” Sheinbaum said Friday.

The video circulating on social media is one Martínez Contreras made eight months ago documenting ongoing threats by local authorities against him. In his work, he investigated illegal water infrastructure, misallocated public funds and irregular and illegal municipal administration.

In a strong statement, Artur Romeu, Latin America regional director of Reporters Without Borders, condemned the killing and the government’s response.

“Six journalists killed in just over six months — how many have to die for the authorities to realize their response remains clearly insufficient? Opening an investigation after each murder is simply not enough. These probes must be thorough and measures heightening journalists’ protection must immediately be put in place,” he said in the statement.

He called upon the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Freedom of Expression to take over the case along with the Puebla State Attorney General’s Office.

“We also urge the authorities to immediately assess all risks to the journalist’s family, the Noticias San Martín Texmelucan team and the reporters covering the case, and to provide all necessary protection measures. The Mexican government must be held accountable for the failures in prevention and protection that have allowed these crimes to recur, and present concrete measures to keep these killings from happening,” he continued.

The International Federation of Journalists also condemned the killing.

“This incident cannot be analyzed in isolation; rather, it is part of a pattern of harassment. According to accounts from neighbors, local press reports, and even a video recorded by the victim some time ago, the media professional had been receiving threats since the beginning of the year — allegedly from Eder Montalvo, the town councilor of San Lucas Atoyatenco,” the organization wrote in a statement.

They called on the Puebla government, the Ministry of the Interior and the federal government’s Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists to urgently coordinate to protect journalists and their families.

On July 3 and July 4, respectively, Roxana Guzmán and Alex Serna were confirmed dead in separate incidents.

Serna, like Martínez Contreras, had documented threats against him in the months leading up to his murder. He also investigated irregular construction and water resource issues.

Guzmán’s abduction in Veracruz was partly documented in a video that began circulating on social media the following day.

In response to Guzmán’s murder, Sheinbaum on July 7 called the incident unfortunate and told journalists who feel threatened to come forward to the “Ministry of the Interior for support and protection while they carry out their work.”

Amnesty International and the United Nations both condemned the murders and also called on the Mexican authorities to conduct an exhaustive investigation based on human rights and freedom of the press.