Fifth journalist this year killed in Mexico

A fifth journalist has been killed in Mexico this year alone. 

Heber López, director of Noticias Web, was killed in his office on Thursday in the state of Oaxaca, The Associated Press reported.

Witnesses saw two men pull up to the office, go in and shoot López, said Rodolfo Canseco Gutiérrez, director of RCP Noticias. 

The state prosecutor’s office said two people were already arrested, and a gun has been found. 

​​Canseco Gutiérrez said López covered crime and politics and believes López’s work was connected to his murder, according to the AP.

The string of violence against the press comes despite promises by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to increase protection for journalists. 

Freedom of the press investigator Jan-Albert Hootsen wrote last week that authorities are trying to minimize the violence.

In a press conference Friday, meanwhile, López Obrador went after a prominent Mexican journalist and their financial earnings after the reporter wrote about connections between the president’s family and acts of corruption. 

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote a letter to the State Department this week urging the U.S. to put pressure on Mexico to protect reporters. 

“The years-long violence against journalists in Mexico cannot begin to lessen as long as the country’s leader continues to normalize hostility towards freedom of expression,” the senators wrote. 

In the 2021 Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, Mexico was ranked 143 out of 180 countries.