Current:Home > InvestMexican photojournalist found shot to death in his car in Ciudad Juarez near U.S. border-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Mexican photojournalist found shot to death in his car in Ciudad Juarez near U.S. border
View Date:2024-12-23 16:38:55
A photographer for a newspaper in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, which has been dominated by drug cartels, was found shot to death, prosecutors said Thursday.
The body of news photographer Ismael Villagómez was found in the driver's seat of a car Thursday in Ciudad Juarez, a violence-plagued city across the border from El Paso, Texas.
Villagómez's newspaper, the Heraldo de Juarez, said he was found dead in a car that he had registered to use for work for a ride-hailing app. Given low salaries, it is not uncommon for journalists in Mexico to hold down more than one job. The newspaper said his phone was not found at the scene.
In a tweet, press freedom organization Article 19 said Villagómez was found murdered in the car at about 1:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Ciudad Juarez has been dominated by drug cartels and their turf battles for almost two decades, and gangs often object to photos of their victims or their activities being published.
Last year in Ciudad Juarez, two prison inmates were shot dead and 20 were injured in a riot involving two rival gangs. Local media said both groups were linked to the Sinaloa cartel, whose former leader, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Carlos Manuel Salas, a prosecutor for the northern border state of Chihuahua, said authorities are investigating whether Villagómez had a fare at the time, or whether the killing was related to his work as a photographer.
The Committee to Protect Journalists made an urgent call for authorities to investigate the killing.
His death was the fifth instance of a journalist being killed in Mexico so far in 2023.
In September, Jesús Gutiérrez, a journalist who ran a community Facebook news page, was killed in the northern Mexico border town of San Luis Rio Colorado when he was apparently caught in the crossfire of an attack aimed at police.
Prosecutors in the northern border state of Sonora said Gutiérrez was talking with the police officers, who were his neighbors, when they were hit by a hail of gunfire, killing one policeman and wounding the other three. They said Gutiérrez's death was "collateral" to the attack on the police.
In May, a journalist who was also a former local official was shot dead in the country's central Puebla region. Marco Aurelio Ramirez, 69, was killed in broad daylight as he left his home in the town of Tehuacan. He had worked for decades for several different media outlets.
At least two other journalists have been killed so far this year in Mexico, which has become one of the deadliest places in the world for journalists outside a war zone.
In the past five years alone, the Committee to Protect Journalists documented the killings of at least 52 journalists in Mexico.
Last year was the deadliest in recent memory for Mexican journalists, with 15 killed. That year, Mexico was one of the deadliest places for journalists, second only to Ukraine.
At least three of those journalists were murdered in direct retaliation for their reporting on crime and political corruption, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Villagómez's death came on the same day that the Committee to Protect Journalists presented its 2023 International Press Freedom Award to Mexican journalist María Teresa Montaño.
In 2021, three unidentified men abducted and threatened to kill Montaño, then a freelance investigative reporter, as she attempted to board a public bus. Montaño told the group that she had been working on a corruption investigation involving state officials, and the men who kidnapped her stole notes and files concerning the investigation.
"Honoring Montaño with this year's IPFA is a powerful recognition of independent regional journalism in Mexico, where reporters often face extreme violence committed with impunity," the group said.
- In:
- Mexico
- Cartel
veryGood! (59536)
Related
- Father sought in Amber Alert killed by officer, daughter unharmed after police chase in Ohio
- 4 Las Vegas high school students indicted on murder charges in deadly beating of schoolmate
- Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders says I absolutely love my job when asked about being Trump's VP
- 5 firefighters injured battling Pittsburgh blaze; 2 fell through roof, officials say
- John Krasinski Reveals Wife Emily Blunt's Hilarious Response to His Sexiest Man Alive Title
- Japanese carmaker that faked safety tests sees long wait to reopen factories
- USPS stamp prices going up: Forever first-class stamps will cost 68 cents starting Jan. 21
- Houthi rebels launch missile attack on yet another U.S.-owned commercial ship, Pentagon says
- Michael Grimm, former House member convicted of tax fraud, is paralyzed in fall from horse
- David Gail, soap star known for 'Beverly Hills, 90210' and 'Port Charles,' dies at 58
Ranking
- 'Yellowstone' premiere: Record ratings, Rip's ride and Billy Klapper's tribute
- Jamaica cracks down on domestic violence with new laws aimed at better protecting victims
- If you donate DNA, what should scientists give in return? A 'pathbreaking' new model
- Democrats believe abortion will motivate voters in 2024. Will it be enough?
- DWTS' Sasha Farber Claps Back at Diss From Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader
- Turkey investigates 8 bodies that washed up on its Mediterranean coast, including at a resort
- Man dies in shooting involving police in Nashua
- When does 'The Bachelor' start? Season 28 premiere date, how to watch and stream
Recommendation
-
Teachers in 3 Massachusetts communities continue strike over pay, paid parental leave
-
Three members of air ambulance crew killed in Oklahoma helicopter crash
-
Mary Weiss, lead singer of the Shangri-Las, dies at 75
-
Taiwan says 6 Chinese balloons flew through its airspace, and warplanes and ships also detected
-
Mike Tyson impresses crowd during workout ahead of Jake Paul fight
-
Lions vs. Bucs highlights: How Detroit topped Tampa Bay to reach NFC championship game
-
Landslide in mountainous southwestern China buries 44 people
-
Washington state lawmaker pushes to ban hog-tying by police following Manuel Ellis’ death