HomeNewsBriefJournalist Gunned Down in North Mexico Border State
BRIEF

Journalist Gunned Down in North Mexico Border State

MEXICO / 5 MAR 2013 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

The director of a news website has been gunned down in northern Mexico, raising the question of whether the country's new administration will begin to tackle the country's plague of violence against journalists.

Jaime Guadalupe Gonzalez Dominguez, who ran the website Ojinaga Noticias, was shot 18 times in the street in Ojinaga municipality, Chihuahua's state, on March 3, with bullets that can pierce bullet-proof vests, reported El Financiero. Attackers stole his camera before escaping in two vehicles, according to the local prosecutor's office. Gonzalez was accompanied by a woman who was apparently unhurt in the attack.

The late journalist's news website posted an announcement of his death, stating that it would likely be the publication's last posting. Later, it was shut down, leaving just a message reading "This site has been suspended...please come back later."

The Juarez City Journalist Association (Asociacion de Periodistas de Ciudad Juarez) said Gonzales was the 18th journalist murdered in Chihuahua since 2000, and that in most cases no one had been arrested for the murders, reported El Diario. The organization has demanded that the government investigate this most recent crime, which is the first journalist homicide case faced by the new administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto.

InSight Crime Analysis

Gonzalez' murder adds to a list of journalist killings that occurred over the course of 2012. Among these were the November murder of a Puebla journalist and a wave of six murders of journalists in spring 2012, with four of these occurring in Veracruz, one in Sonora and one in Morelos. All of these states are among those seriously afflicted by the country's violent drug war. Federal agents responsible for security for Chihuahua newspaper El Siglo de Torreon were also attacked over the course of three days in late February 2013.

InSight Crime has reported on the state's failure to provide protection to members of the press in Mexico, which became the world's most dangerous country to be a journalist under previous President Felipe Calderon. Journalists are often targeted by criminal organizations for publishing damaging information, with many now resorting to self-censorship to protect themselves. Reports vary on the numbers, with the National Human Rights Commission reporting 81 homicides since 2000 as of May 2012 and press freedom advocacy agency Article 19 counting 95 murders since 2006, as of November 2012. As of July 2012, there had only been one prosecution in the cases of 67 journalist murders and 14 disappearances since 2006.

In June 2012 a law providing special protection to human rights activists and journalists was signed by Calderon, following pressure from members of these organizations. However impunity remains widespread. This case will be the first test of President Peña Nieto's commitment to those who stand for freedom of speech, in an administration that has made improving national security a top priority.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Tags

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

AYOTZINAPA / 6 OCT 2022

Mexico's army is being given more public security responsibilities, despite its human rights abuses.

EL MENCHO / 5 JAN 2022

Drone attacks in Michoacán, bodies hanging from bridges in Zacatecas, attacks with remotely detonated explosives in Guanajuato, massacres in Jalisco…

COCAINE / 15 MAR 2023

Australia and New Zealand are the most expensive cocaine markets in the world. For the Sinaloa Cartel, it's worth the…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.