Mexico: the decapitated body of a journalist found in the east of the country
Journalists demonstrate on April 1, 2020 in Xalapa, in the state of Veracruz against the assassinations of their colleagues.
(illustration photo) HECTOR QUINTANAR / AFP
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The decapitated body of a journalist with El Mundo de Veracruz newspaper was found on Wednesday in an area marked by great violence in the eastern Mexican state, police and freedom of expression organizations reported .
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“
I condemn
the
cowardly
murder
of journalist Julio Valdivia (...).
In coordination with the state attorney general's office, we will use all resources to find those responsible,
”Security Secretary and Police Chief Hugo Gutiérrez said in a statement.
Fifth journalist killed in 2020
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the authorities to investigate the link between the 41-year-old journalist's crime and his professional activities.
Julio Valdivia is the fifth journalist killed in Mexico in 2020, according to
RSF
.
The
journalist's body
, as well as a motorbike belonging to him, were found on a railway line in a mountainous area in the municipality of Tezonapa, according to information published by
El Mundo
.
Julio Valdivia "
worked in a complicated area where there are criminal groups, we must investigate whether he had reported anything that bothered these criminal groups, this is a fundamental line
", said Ana Laura Pérez, president of the Commission for the Protection of Journalists in Veracruz.
In Mexico, over 90% of these crimes go unpunished
According to
El Mundo's
Twitter account
, the journalist on Tuesday covered a clash between police and criminal suspects in the municipality of Cosolapa.
After the murder,
El Mundo
wrote on his website that the prosecution "was
investigating whether the crime was linked to his profession as a journalist
".
Mexico is considered one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, with over 100 members of the press killed since 2000. Over 90% of
these crimes
have gone unpunished.
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