Journalism in Mexico is fraught with danger

Radio journalist in Chihuahua, Jesús Adrían Rodríguez Samaniego, was shot dead yesterday morning outside his home. With Rodríguez Samaniego’s murder the dead toll of journalists in Mexico rises to ten this year so far, according to Reporters Without Borders and to twelve, according to statistics from the Inter-American Press Association (SIP), respectively.

The local Attorney General’s Office informed that the context of Rodriguez’ journalistic exercise stands as the main line of research for his murder. The victim is survived by his girlfriend, and three economic dependents: two daughters and a godson.

The case reached high spheres in Chihuahua, where the state governor, Javier Corral Jurado, instructed the Attorney General of the State, César Augusto Peniche Espejel, to conduct the search of those responsible for Rodríguez’ crime.

For her part, Brenda Velázquez Valdéz, president of the Special Monitoring Committee of the Attacks to Media workers and Journalists of the Mexican Lower Chamber, condemned the murder of Rodríguez Samaniego and anticipated that she will shortly call her peers to session and evaluate the safety conditions of workers in the Media and Journalism industry in Mexico.

A couple of weeks earlier, amid the murder of two journalists in the state of Veracruz, the Head of Reporters without Borders for the Americas, Emmanuel Colombié, declared Mexico as the most dangerous country for the exercise of the journalistic profession, due to the high number of murders against journalists in the country.

Last October the Inter-American Press Association (SIP), registered eleven murders of journalists so far this year, while recently, the Mexican Human Rights Commission (CNDH) informed that 119 journalists have been killed between 2000 and so far in 2016 in the whole of Mexico. According to the Juarez Journalist Network, nineteen journalist and media workers killings have been registered since 2000.

The president of the Journalists Forum of Chihuahua, Ángel Zubia, expressed his concern for Rodríguez’ murder as he noted this is the first murder of a journalist in Chihuahua since 2013.