59th Journalist Killed In Mexico

The bloody corpse of radio journalist Jose Louis Romero was found last Saturday on a highway near Los Mochis in Sinaloa, Mexico. His body had been shoved into a plastic bag, the hands bound and broken. One bullet was lodged in the shoulder and two in the head. Romero had been reporting on drug trafficking.

A few hours later, gunmen killed the chief police investigator who had started to investigate the murder.

According to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, this was the 59th murder of a Mexican journalist since 2000.

Last week, the body of regional newspaper reporter Valentin Valdes was found with a threatening message. Valdes had been reporting on the arrests of suspected drug traffickers. His newspaper has announced that in view of the threat, all reporting on drug violence may have to be suspended.