There are new worries about the safety of journalists in the Central American nation after a prominent radio and television reporter in Mexico said that two assailants tried to assassinate him close to his house in Mexico City.
One of Mexico’s most well-known journalists, Ciro Gomez Leyva, said in an early-day social media post on Friday that the incident had place just before midnight.
“Two persons on a motorcycle shot at me 200 meters [650 feet] from my house, evidently with the definite purpose of killing me,” Gomez Leyva wrote. I was saved by the truck’s armor, and I have reported the incident to the authorities.
He posted pictures of the damage numerous rounds caused to his automobile. The window of his car appears to have been unharmed by the gunfire.
This year, there has been an increase in fatal violence against journalists in Mexico. 13 journalists have been slain in the nation so far in 2022, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a US-based watchdog group, three of whom were targeted in “retaliation for their reporting.”
The committee reported this year that Mexico is the country with the most cases of missing journalists in the world (15 incidents since 2005).
The most dangerous nation outside of war zones for journalists is now Mexico. Twenty percent of journalists killed globally, according to Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) year-end report, were killed in Mexico. According to the research, this, along with murders in Haiti and Brazil, contributed to the Americas being the “world’s most dangerous zone for journalists” in 2022.
Although organized crime is frequently blamed for the harassment of journalists in Mexico, press freedom groups have criticized the government and the country’s lax legal system for not doing enough to confront the problem.
In a statement released in August, CPJ noted that while looking into attacks on journalists, “authorities frequently fail to act quickly, fail to follow best practices for evidence gathering, and appear to prioritize presenting suspects as soon as possible, rather than conducting a thorough investigation.”
In addition, it can be challenging to trust official investigations because of allegations that officials support criminal gangs or take part in attacks themselves.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who frequently spars with the reporter, was among those who condemned the assault on Gomez Leyva.
Injuries to a person like Ciro lead to a great deal of political instability, according to Lopez Obrador. “He is a journalist, a human being, but what is more, he is a leader of public opinion,” Lopez Obrador said.
The president acknowledged that there were disagreements. They are well-known and widely known. They’re going to keep happening, but attacking anyone is abhorrent in the extreme.
Gomez Leyva claimed he had no knowledge who was responsible for the assault.
After releasing a report about extortion at a prison in Mexico City, he said that five years ago was the first time he had experienced threats. His employer, a media organization, requested he drive a bulletproof Jeep Cherokee after that 2017 threat.
