In Mexico again a journalist has been murdered. Jesus Ramos Rodriguez, radio station 99.9 FM was shot dead in a restaurant in the city of Emiliano Zapata yesterday, a public prosecutor in Tabasco state told AFP.
According to local media, he had been hosting a newscast for years. The organization Reporters Without Borders initiated an investigation into the attack.
Eyewitness: Shot on Rodriguez eight times
The newspaper „El Universal“ reported, citing eyewitnesses, that the attacker got out of a car and went straight to Rodriguez. Then he shot him at least eight times. In the state of Tabasco, located between Guatemala and the Gulf of Mexico, several powerful drug cartels are fighting for supremacy.
Only a few weeks ago, the head of a local radio station in the northern state of Baja California Sur was killed. Rafael Murua was found dead in a ditch on January 20 after he was reported missing. The 34-year-old received death threats prior to his death and was included in a Mexican government protection program for journalists and human rights activists.
More than a hundred journalists killed since 2000
In December, „Reporters Without Borders“ listed Mexico as the third most dangerous country for journalists in Afghanistan and Syria. Since 2000, more than a hundred journalists have been killed in Mexico – most of them have remained unpunished.
Reinforced by the bloody drug war and political corruption, violent crime is very widespread in Mexico. Last year, the number of violently killed people rose to a record 33,341.
