Mexico Records Eighth Murder of a Journalist in 2022

Mexican authorities confirmed the murder of a crime journalist in the central state of Zacatecas. The killing is the eighth of its kind since the start of the year.

State authorities confirmed on Friday afternoon that the journalist had been shot to death inside a taxi cab in the city of Fresnillo, Zacatecas. Local journalists revealed that the victim moonlighted as a taxi driver.

Fresnillo
En la calle Ficus del fraccionamiento Los Olivos, se encontraba una persona lesionada por proyectil de arma de fuego.

— @ssp_zac (@voceria_spz) March 4, 2022

The journalist is identified as Juan Carlos Muniz, but he used the pen name of Rigoberto since he covered crime stories for the website Multimedios Testigo Minero. According to a statement by his employers, the journalist covered crime-related stories and at times used the alias TX in reference to his other job as a taxi driver.

Soon after the murder, Zacatecas State Governor David Monreal Avila took to social media denouncing the murder and asking for an investigation.

Condeno el acto en el que fue privado de la vida, la tarde de hoy, en Fresnillo, Juan Carlos Muñiz, trabajador del portal de noticias Testigo Minero y expresamos nuestra solidaridad a sus familiares, amigos y colegas.

— David Monreal Ávila (@DavidMonrealA) March 4, 2022

As Breitbart Texas reported, the state of Zacatecas witnessed a dramatic rise in violence after two of Mexico’s most powerful cartels began a fierce turf war. The Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation have been openly fighting for control of the state’s highway system that connects states on the Pacific Coast with various states on the U.S. border.

The killing is the eighth of its kind since the start of the year as several press freedom groups continue to label Mexico as the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been widely criticized by international politicians for the ongoing rise in murdered media workers, even drawing concerned statements from the U.S. Secretary of State. However rather Lopez Obrador has lashed back at international criticism saying they are misinformed or crooked, Breitbart Texas reported.

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.