Mexico
Journalists killedPosted Feb 23 2010
Valentín Valdés Espinosa, 29, a reporter for the newspaper Zócalo de Saltillo in Coahuila, was abducted on Jan. 7 and found dead the next morning in front of Motel Marbella. Valdés was tortured, shot several times and his hands and feet had been bound. He was left with a note attached to his body warning other journalists to stay away. He covered crime, corruption and politics for the newspaper. His death is thought to be a drug cartel reaction about an article he recently wrote.
José Luis Romero, 40, a crime reporter for the private radio network Línea Directa, was kidnapped on Dec. 30 in Los Mochis and found dead on Jan. 16 along a road outside Los Mochis. He was shot in the head and tortured, possibly on the same day as his abduction. Romero is thought to be the victim of a drug cartel attack.
Alberto Velázquez, owner of the newspaper Expresiones de Tulum in Tulum, was killed while leaving a Christmas party on Dec. 22. Velázquez was shot twice by two men on a motorcycle and died later in a Cancún hospital. The motive for the killing is unknown, but Velázquez did write articles on political corruption and mismanagement.
Jorge Ochoa Martínez, 55, an editor and publisher in Guerrero state, was killed on Jan. 29 after being shot in the face. Ochoa owned two small newspapers, the weekly El Oportuno and the twice-weekly El Sol de la Costa. Both newspapers avoid controversy by not covering dangerous issues, but Guerrero is a dangerous state for drug cartels.