Highlights: Mexico: Three kidnapped journalists freed. Three journalists who were kidnapped a week ago in the state of Guerrero were released on Saturday. Silvia Nayssa Arce, Alberto Sánchez and Marco Antonio Toledo -- were freed thanks to "increased search operations and the deployment of local and federal authorities" The release of the journalists "was confirmed after the prosecution obtained proof of life and interviewed the victims," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. But the couple's son, Alberto Toledo Denova, who was kidnapped along with his parents, has not been found.

Three journalists who were kidnapped a week ago in the state of Guerrero were released on Saturday, according to a statement from the Prosecutor's Office.

Mexico: Three kidnapped journalists freed

Three journalists who were kidnapped a week ago in the state of Guerrero were released on Saturday, according to a statement from the Prosecutor's Office.

The three journalists kidnapped a week ago in the town of Taxco, Guerrero (illustration photo from March 2023), were released on Saturday, November 25, the Prosecutor's Office announced. AFP - DANIEL SLIM

By: RFI Follow

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The journalists -- Silvia Nayssa Arce, Alberto Sánchez and Marco Antonio Toledo -- were freed thanks to "increased search operations and the deployment of local and federal authorities," the Guerrero state prosecutor's office said in a statement Saturday. Guerrero, a state hard hit by organized crime linked to drug mafias.

The release of the journalists "was confirmed after the prosecution obtained proof of life and interviewed the victims," the statement added.

📣🔴 ARTICLE 19 y @prensacimac confirman la liberación de Silvia Nayssa Arce Avilés y Alberto Sánchez Juárez del medio digital RedSiete durante la noche. ⬇️ https://t.co/L6Vgeg5a3l

— ARTICLE 19 MX-CA (@article19mex) November 25, 2023

The prosecutor's office also confirmed the release of Guadalupe Denova, wife of one of the freed journalists, Marco Antonio Toledo. But the couple's son, Alberto Toledo Denova, who was kidnapped along with his parents, has not been found and law enforcement "continues search operations," according to the statement.

Marco Antonio Toledo, director of the local weekly El Espectador and correspondent for several media outlets, was kidnapped on 19 November in Taxco. The other two journalists, Arce and Sánchez, from the online media outlet RedSiete, were kidnapped on 22 November in the same city.

Mexico is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

On 16 November, photojournalist Ismael Villagómez Tapia, a contributor to the local newspaper El Heraldo de Juárez, was shot dead in Ciudad Juarez in northern Mexico, on the border with the United States. Three people have been arrested in connection with the killing.

At least five other journalists have been killed in Mexico since the beginning of the year, according to RSF. More than 150 journalists have been murdered in the country since 2000 and 28 are missing. According to Article 19, 2022 was the deadliest year with at least 13 killings of journalists documented by the government

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