Safety Of Journalists In Mexico 2017: Before Javier Valdez, 4 Other Crime Reporters Murdered

In the latest wave of journalist killings in Mexico, Javier Valdez Cárdenas, an award-winning reporter who specialized in writing about drug trafficking and organized crime was killed Monday in the northern state of Sinaloa, officials said. He was among the six journalists who have reportedly been murdered in Mexico this year.

Cárdenas, who was the co-founder of publication Riodoce, was shot to death in the early afternoon near his office. Sinaloa state prosecutor Juan José Ríos Estavillo arrived at the crime scene and said his department would provide more security to journalists, CNN reported.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international organization, 37 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 1992, of which eight have been murdered in the past two years.

Read: Juarez Newspaper Ceased Its Operation In Mexico Due To Surge In Journalist Killings

On March 2, a freelance journalist named Cecilio Pineda Birto was shot dead in the municipality of Ciudad Altamirano in the Mexican state of Guerrero. A colleague of Birto said at the time he used to contribute to several newspapers and often published crime stories on social media. A Facebook page Birto managed, Las Noticias al Instante, regularly featured crime stories and discussed social issues and corruption. His reporting on these issues attracted weekly threats via social media, his colleague told the CPJ.

Ricardo Monlui Cabrera, who was the editorial director of the Córdoba-based El Político newspaper, was shot to death March 19 in the municipality of Yanga in the eastern state of Veracruz, reports said.

On March 23, Miroslava Breach Velducea, a correspondent for Mexico's daily publication La Jornada — from the northern state of Chihuahua — was shot eight times by an unidentified assailant. La Jornada reported a note that read, "For being a snitch. You're next, governor.--The 80." was found at the scene of the murder. Police said the note targeted Arturo Quintana, who allegedly, was a leader of a criminal gang associated with an organized crime group that operated in the western part of the state.

A crime reporter, Maximino Rodríguez Palacios, was shot to death April 14 by unknown assailants in the northern Mexican city of La Paz, his employer was quoted by the CPJ. Rodríguez Palacios reported for Colectivo Pericú, a blog that covers events in the state of Baja California Sur.

Irina Bokova, the director-general of Unesco, condemned the killing of Palacois.

"We cannot allow criminals to attack the media for bringing information to the public. I call on the authorities to ensure that this crime is investigated and that its perpetrators are brought to justice in order to protect freedom of expression and freedom of information," she was quoted as saying on Unesco's website.

“Historically, in Mexico the government has failed to understand the role of the press and the difficulties they face in doing their jobs,” Esteban Illades, a leading Mexican journalist told Fox News during an interview early April. “The criminal justice systems at both the state and federal level are simply inadequate," he told Fox News.