Mexican Journalists Shot In Western Mexico In Two Unrelated Instances

Within less than 24 hours on 30 October 2024, two journalists were shot dead in two separate instances in two different western Mexican states, signaling a rise of violence against journalists, even under newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum. Patricia Ramirez, also known as Paty Bunbury, was an entertainment reporter murdered in the western state of Colima, according to a report from the state prosecutor’s office to Reuters.

This event happened within 24 hours of the first report of a journalist’s death, the first being that of Mauricio Cruz Solis in the city of Uruapan in the western state of Michoacan, according to a similar report from the state’s prosecutor’s office. According to Reuters, President Sheinbaum has followed the work of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in not waging a new war on Mexico’s drug cartels.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists in a statement on Thursday, 31 October 2024, the killings demonstrate the urgent need for President Sheinbaum to take steps to protect journalists from violence. According to a report by the Colima state prosecutor’s office, Ramirez was shot by an unidentified individual in the restaurant she runs in Colima’s state capital. Additionally, according to Mario Alberto Gaitan, vice president of the local journalists’ association Periodistas Colimenses, Ramirez did not cover politics, crime, or security, and never reported receiving any threats.

Similarly, Solis was shot after just completing an interview with Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo on the street outside of city hall, according to CBS. Manzo had told local media he had walked away and had heard shots moments later, ducking for cover thinking the shots were aimed at him. Manzo states he cannot rule out a connection between the interview and the killings.

In both cases, though it is more difficult to conclude in Solis’ case rather than Ramirez’, the reporters did not normally report on politics, crime, or security, showing they were generally unrelated to those fields in their reporting. Though there may be some connection between Solis and gang violence in his reporting, both cases require a larger degree of government attention on the protection of journalists and the press in Mexico, especially in the cartel-riddled western states.

President Sheinbaum’s refusal to wage a war on Mexico’s cartels, though tactical in keeping a civil war from erupting in Mexico and protecting the general population, has left large gaps in public security, one being the deaths of at least five reporters this year, according to CBS. Though a large-scale prosecution of cartel activity would get at the root of the problem, federal protections for members of the press, especially those who report on and are close to gang and cartel violence, would help curtail violence against journalists and hopefully keep more lives from being lost.

Solis was reporting on a suspicious fire at a local market before the interview and shooting according to CBS News, with gangs having been shown to burn businesses that refuse to pay extortion fees. According to Reuters, the state of Michoacan is known to be riddled with crime related to fighting between drug cartels and local law enforcement. In Solis’ case, it may be possible that his shooting was the result of his reporting on gang violence in Michoacan, though that in no way justifies his killing. Ramirez was an entertainment journalist, reporting mainly on local entertainment in Colima. In her case, she was largely distant from gang violence and her shooting seems unrelated to any cartel activity, with the killing being a solitary event.

Though the Mexican government’s response to these issues has been positive by allowing state prosecutors to individually investigate the attacks and find those responsible, wider federal investigations and protections may help protect individuals of the press before such attacks happen. If greater care is not taken in protecting the lives of journalists, especially those close to cartel violence, continued killings will proceed, signaling a further loss of press freedom and life in Mexico’s most vulnerable communities.

Related