Gunmen Kidnap, Kill Journalist in Western Mexico—10th in 2022

Gunmen kidnapped and killed a well-respected journalist in western Mexico and later left his body in a rural area wrapped in plastic. The murder marks the 10th of its kind in 2022 and 34th during President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador first term of office.

On Thursday morning, authorities in Sinaloa recovered a body wrapped in plastic and identified the victim was Luis Enrique Ramirez Ramos. He was kidnapped Wednesday from a convenience store in Culiacan.

#MEXICO: El CPJ condena de la forma más enérgica el asesinato del reportero sinaloense Luis Enrique Ramírez en Culiacán y llama urgentemente a las autoridades investigar los hechos. https://t.co/gU75OdnaG1

— CPJ Américas (@CPJAmericas) May 5, 2022

According to Rio Doce, at the convenience store, the gunmen and Ramirez had a verbal altercation which led to gunfire. At the store, authorities found bloodstains and Ramirez’s shoe.

On Thursday afternoon, Sinaloa Attorney General Sara Bruna Quinones Estrada confirmed the body found was Ramirez.

Buenas tardes, lamentablemente se confirma que el cuerpo encontrado en un camino de terracería por carretera El Ranchito, es el periodista Luis Enrique Ramírez Ramos. Nuestras sinceras condolencias a su familia y nuestro compromiso de trabajar en esclarecer este hecho

— Sara Bruna Quiñónez Estrada (@quinonez_bruna) May 5, 2022

Ramirez founded and ran Fuentes Fidedignas and had previously worked for well-known newspapers such as El Universal, Jornada, Debate, and Milenio, Rio Doce reported.

The murder comes at a time when Mexico’s government draws international criticism for the irregular number of media workers murdered with impunity. Mexico’s president has rebuffed the criticisms, calling them “interventionism.” Though press freedom organizations keep different statistics with some only counting nine murders so far this year, all agree that Mexico is one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists to practice.

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.