Journalist Murdered in Mexico — 9th in 2022

Gunmen shot and killed the director of a local news outlet in western Mexico, marking the ninth of its kind in 2022. The homicide follows weeks after shooters killed one of his staff.

The murder took place on Tuesday afternoon in Zitacuaro, where gunmen shot Armando Linares Lopez in his home, the Michoacan Attorney General’s Office revealed. Linares was the director of a news outlet called Monitor Michoacan, which covers crime stories and exposed corruption.

#FiscaliaMich acude a la colonia Carabanchel, en Zitácuaro, para realizar actuaciones con relación al homicidio del periodista Armando Linares López, ocurrido esta tarde en un domicilio particular; presenta heridas producidas por disparo de arma de fuego. pic.twitter.com/g4iiHzVSbw

— Fiscalía General de Michoacán (@FiscaliaMich) March 16, 2022

Soon after the murder, Monitor Michoacan posted an announcement asking for justice for the fallen director.

The murder comes after the January 31 homicide of Roberto Toledo, a staff member at the same outlet. Gunmen shot and killed Toledo at the publication’s offices.

#MEXICO: CPJ is shocked to learn of the murder of reporter Armando Linares, the founder and editor of news website Monitor Michoacán. He was shot dead today in the city of Zitácuaro, in the central Mexican state of Michoacán.https://t.co/OMaVnXUBLx

— CPJ Américas (@CPJAmericas) March 16, 2022

After the murder of Toledo in January, Linares used the outlet to publish a short video announcing the death of his staff member and asked for an investigation.

While various press freedom organizations have different figures with some only counting eight murders, they all agree Mexico is the deadliest country for journalists to practice. The Parliament of the European Union and some U.S. officials called out Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador over the spike in journalist killings during his administration. Rather than acknowledge the issue, the politician often counters by calling the critiques interventionist and corrupt.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.