Mexican journalist murdered in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas
Mexican journalist Héctor González was killed in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, the newspaper Excelsior reported, in which the journalist was a correspondent.
Referring to sources from the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office, the newspaper said González’s body was located in Ciudad Victoria.
According to the first investigations, the journalist “died from beatings” on body and face, probably caused by stones, but so far it has not been determined how he was provoked.
The authorities opened the corresponding investigation to identify and locate those responsible for the homicide, the newspaper said.
“So far no line of investigation is ruled out but there is no evidence that (the murder) could be related to organized crime,” said Luis Alberto Rodríguez, security spokesman for Tamaulipas in an interview with the Milenio Televisión channel.
“Gonzalez was not registered in the protection mechanism for journalists,” he added.
Last Thursday, another journalist, Alicia Díaz, was found dead at her home in the city of Monterrey, in the northern state of Nuevo León.
The body of the woman, 52 years old, was found by her son with beatings at the reporter’s home.
According to the organization Article 19, during the presidency of President Enrique Peña Nieto, which began in 2012, 42 journalists have been murdered and about 2,000 aggressions have been reported to reporters.
Network of Mexican Journalists condemns murder of colleague and demands guarantees
The Journalists Network of northeastern Mexico today condemned the murder of his colleague Héctor González Antonio and demanded guarantees to exercise his profession in this area of the country hit by the activity of organized crime.
González was found dead in Ciudad Victoria, capital of the state of Tamaulipas, when “the flowers of the crowns of Alicia Díaz, murdered in Monterrey last week, have not yet faded,” the network of journalists from the northeast said in a letter addressed to the authorities.
To his colleagues in Tamaulipas, “that area so dangerous to practice journalism,” the network expressed their support and said that the aggression against one of them “affects us all.”
They demanded a clear and thorough investigation from the Government of Tamaulipas regarding the murder of González, correspondent in Tamaulipas of the newspaper Excelsior and Grupo Imagen.
“We demand to maintain the necessary guarantees for the exercise of our profession,” said the network, which brings together journalists from the Mexican states of Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas and Tamaulipas.
The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) joined in the sentences of the murder of González and asked the authorities to take measures to protect the life and safety of their relatives.
In a statement, the CNDH expressed its condolences to the journalist’s family, as well as to the executives and colleagues of Grupo Imagen.
The agency said that with the killing of González, 136 journalists have already been murdered in Mexico since 2000.
This figure “gives an account of the serious situation of insecurity suffered by communicators in the country,” the CNDH said in its statement.
According to the organization Article 19, during the presidency of President Enrique Peña Nieto, which began in 2012, 42 journalists have been murdered and about 2,000 aggressions have been reported to reporters.
