Journalist shot dead in Mexico amid wave of cartel violence

A journalist was shot dead Tuesday night in western Mexico, a local prosecutor's office said, in a part of the country hit hard by drug cartel violence.

Mauricio Cruz Solis, a host on local radio station La Poderosa Uruapan who also published news on the Minuto x Minuto outlet, was killed in the city of Uruapan in the western state of Michoacán.

One other person was wounded in the attack, the prosecutor's office said.

The radio station where Cruz Solis worked mourned his killing in a statement published on social media.

"Mauricio was more than a colleague, he was an unconditional friend, a source of inspiration and a tireless voice in the service of our community," the station said. "We will always remember you Mauricio. Thank you for all that you shared with us."

Wracked by violence related to drug trafficking, Mexico is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists, news advocacy groups say.

Reporters Without Borders says more than 150 newspeople have been killed in Mexico since 1994 — and 2022 was one of the deadliest years ever for journalists in Mexico, with at least 15 killed.

Cruz Solis's murder is the first killing of a journalist under the government of Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office on October 1, although there have been other attacks on media this month.

On October 18, gunmen shot at the front of the El Debate newspaper's office in Culiacan, the state capital of cartel stronghold Sinaloa, which has been shaken by weeks of gang infighting.

A day later, a delivery worker with the outlet was abducted by presumed criminal groups and there has been no news about his whereabouts.

Media workers are regularly targeted in Mexico, often in direct reprisal for their work covering topics like corruption and the country's notoriously violent drug traffickers.

In August, a Mexican journalist who covered one of the country's most dangerous crime beats was killed by gunmen, and two of his government-assigned bodyguards were wounded.

In April, Roberto Figueroa, who covered local politics and gained a social media following through satirical videos, was found dead inside a car in his hometown of Huitzilac in Morelos, a state south of Mexico City where drug-fueled violence runs rampant.

All but a handful of the killings and abductions remain unsolved.

"Impunity is the norm in crimes against the press," the the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report on Mexico in March.

In:
• Drug Cartels
• Mexico
• Murder
• Cartel