16th Journalist Killed in Mexico in 2018

Two gunmen on a motorcycle murdered a local journalist and injured his wife as they dined in southern Mexico–marking the 16th dead in 2018.

The murder took place in Cacahoatan, Chiapas, not far from Mexico’s border with Guatemala. Sergio Martinez Gonzalez was eating breakfast with his wife at a local food stand. Two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle pulled up and began firing. The journalist was shot multiple times and died at the scene. His wife, currently unidentified, is listed in serious condition at a hospital in Tapachula.

Martinez Gonzalez ran the weekly publication Enfoque in Chiapas and focused on local corruption. In August, Martinez Gonzalez posted on Facebook about his outrage after authorities allegedly ignored him when he tried to report threats received. 

The murder of Martinez Gonzalez comes only five days after a group of gunmen shot and killed radio journalist and DJ Arturo Porcallo Eguiluz in the nearby state of Guerrero, Breitbart Texas reported. The murder also follows the September death of respected journalist Mario Leonel Gomez Sanchez in Yajalon, Chiapas. Gomez Sanchez reported on corrupt politicians and was the target of threats.

2018 Slayings

August 29 — Javier Rodriguez Valladares was a cameraman and TV journalist for Canal 10 in Cancun, Quintana Roo. He was shot along one of the main avenues in the tourist hotspot. 

August 8 — Rodolfo Garcia Gonzalez was a freelance photographer who often worked with Semanario7. He was shot and killed in Guanajuato. 

July 24 — Ruben Pat Cauich was a veteran journalist who founded the online outlet La Playa News in Quintana Roo, not far from Cancun. He had been previously threatened and was ultimately killed at a bar in the tourist hotspot of Playa Del Carmen.

July 3 — José Guadalupe Chan Dzib was a crime reporter for La Playa News, Aqui y Ahora, and other local outlets near Cancun, Quintana Roo. He was gunned down outside of a local bar in Playa Del Carmen.

May 29 — Hector Gonzales Antonio was a national correspondent for Excelsior and worked in various local outlets. He was kidnapped, tortured, and dumped in a vacant lot.

May 24 — Alicia Diaz Gonzalez, a financial writer for one of Mexico’s largest publications, was found beaten to death in her home in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

May 14 — Juan Carlos Huerta Martínez, a reporter and broadcast host, was killed by a team of gunmen outside his home in Tabasco.

March 21 — Leobardo Vázquez Atzin ran the online news site Enlace Informativo Regional in Veracruz who reported on a local mayor tied to an illicit property grab and was killed by a team of gunmen.

February 14 — Pedro Damián Gómez Bonifaz, director-owner of the Panorama Político, was found dead with obvious signs of trauma caused by a sharp-edged weapon at his home in Tijuana, Baja California.

February 5 — Leslie Ann Pamela Montenegro del Real, a popular YouTube satirist and blogger who used the pseudonym “La Nana Pelucas,” was gunned down while eating dinner at a restaurant in Acapulco.

January 21 — Agustín Silva Vásquez, a freelance police reporter from El Sol del Istmo, disappeared in Matías Romero, Oaxaca, according to his family members who reported his kidnapping. Silva Vásquez is presumed dead.

January 13 — Carlos Dominguez Rodriguez was ambushed and killed by a team of assassins in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, who stabbed him to death in front of his family. Authorities arrested a relative of the former mayor of Nuevo Laredo and several other individuals allegedly linked to the case.

January 6 — José Gerardo Martínez Arriaga, an editor with El Universal, was purchasing toys for his family in Mexico City when he was robbed and killed at gunpoint.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon.  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 the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.

Tony Aranda from the Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.