United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is condemning Sunday’s murder of a Mexican journalist, the third in that country just this year.
Lourdes Maldonado Lopez was found shot to death in her car outside her home in the northern city of Tijuana. Her death came just days after she won a lawsuit against Jamie Bonilla, the owner of a media outlet who was elected governor of Baja California state in 2019 as a member of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s political party.
Maldonado accused Bonilla of unfair labor practices after she was fired from Bonilla’s company. She personally appealed for President Lopez Obrador’s help during one of his daily press briefings that year because she feared for her life.
Human rights groups have called Mexico one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. Mexican human rights organizations say Maldonado, a veteran journalist who covered corruption and politics for several news outlets, was registered in Baja California’s protection program for journalists after she was the target of previous attacks for her work.
Maldonado’s death came just days after photojournalist Margarito Martinez was shot and killed outside his home in Tijuana. Another journalist, Jose Luis Gamboa, the founder and editor of an online news outlet, was killed earlier this month in Veracruz state.
Journalists across Mexico are organizing a nationwide protest against violence and impunity Tuesday, according to a tweet from Jan-Albert Hootsen, the Mexican representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Secretary-General Guterres, called on Mexican authorities Monday to “strengthen the protection of journalists, in particular, to take further steps to prevent attacks on them, including by tackling threats and slurs aimed at them.”
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
