• America Mexico 2022: one journalist killed every week

The journalist and director of the news portal 'Lo Real de Guerrero', Nelson Matus, was shot dead this Saturday night in a parking lot in the city of Acapulco, in Mexico.

Matus was in the parking lot when he was surprised by several unknown individuals shortly after 15:00 p.m. (local time) who opened fire on him, according to the newspaper 'El Sol de Acapulco'.

The director of the police news portal has received bullet wounds in the body and also in the head.

Members of the Mexican Army and the National Guard went to the area and found Matus still with vital signs, so they tried to practice first aid, but a few minutes later he lost his life because of the severity of the wounds.

Nelson Matus had a career of more than 15 years as a journalist in police issues, in media such as Alarma, Agora Guerrero, until he became the director and responsible for 'Lo Real de Guerrero', one of the most viewed portals in the state.

This is the second murder of a journalist in the city this year, since last May the cameraman at that time already retired Gerardo Torres Rentería was murdered in his home by unknown individuals.

Matus is the second journalist killed so far this year in Mexico. A week ago, Luis Martín Sánchez Iñiguez (59), a correspondent for the newspaper La Jornada in the northwestern Mexican state of Nayarit, was found dead after being reported missing, according to the newspaper he worked for.


The newspaper, which cited reports from local authorities, said that the wife of the communicator, Cecilia López, reported to the prosecutor's office that she did not know his whereabouts since Wednesday night, when she was in another town visiting relatives.

The lifeless body of Sánchez Iñiguez was located on Saturday morning in a rural area near Tepic, the capital of Nayarit. He was apparently wrapped in plastic bags and had a message on his chest allegedly from criminals, Nayarit media reported.

Sánchez, the first active journalist killed in Mexico in 2023, was at home Wednesday night and spoke with his wife by phone.

Mexico, considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world to practice the profession, according to RSF. Since 2000, more than 150 journalists have been killed in Mexico, according to the organization.

According to the government, 2022 killings of reporters were recorded in 13 alone, and authorities are investigating whether these events were related to the victims' work. The majority of crimes against communicators remain unpunished.

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