A Third Journalist Is Shot to Death in Mexico

Journalist Leobardo Vázquez, 42, managed the news site Enlace Informativo Regional in Veracruz, Mexico, which covered general news and crime. Some believe he was shot to death for his work as a journalist. Here's why. 

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Journalist Leobardo Vázquez, who managed news site Enlace Informativo Regional in Veracruz, Mexico, was shot to death by someone on a motorcycle late Wednesday, The New York Times reports.

Vázquez, who ran a taco shop outside of his house in Gutiérrez Zamora — a town with active drug gangs — was found by his wife, Ivonne Hernández Durán, who heard the gunfire. The initial investigation into his death revealed that Vasquez, whose site cover local news and crime, had been threatened by mayors and a notary in the past, but he never filed a formal complaint with the state’s commission for the protection of journalists. The Times also reported that Vázquez’s media outlet published an article on a land dispute that resulted in “veiled threats” from the warring parties.

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Inter-American Press Association, a press advocacy group, said Vázquez’s colleagues were worried about their safety and were planning to register their concerns with the organization.

While the special prosecutors’ office will continue to explore all possible motivations for the murder, Vázquez is the third journalist this year to be killed. In January, 77-year-old columnist Carlos Dominguez, who covered politics, organized crime and corruption in a career that spanned four decades, was stabbed 21 times while stopped at a traffic light in front of his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren.

Last year, the Times reports, 10 journalist were killed in the country.