MCALLEN, Texas — A citizen journalist in the border city of Reynosa, Mexico has fallen victim to the hands of the Gulf Cartel in the most brazen attempt to date to silence information about the worsening security situation on the Mexican side of the shared border with Texas.
Social media postings on Thursday morning mourned the passing of Maria Del Rosario Fuentes Rubio, a Reynosa doctor better known by her Twitter handle @Miut3.
Law enforcement sources in Tamaulipas, Mexico confirmed her kidnapping Wednesday afternoon and found her body overnight. Due to the early stages of her investigation authorities didn’t release details of the murder. Officials who spoke with Breitbart Texas said they are not only looking at social media but also at her work as a doctor and acquaintances before determining the motive for the murder.
On Thursday early morning the twitter handle @miut3 posted a farewell message identifying Fuentes by name, posting her picture and telling the community to remain quiet about Reynosa and not make her mistakes “you won’t get anything out of it” as well as warning other citizen journalists that criminals were on to them. The profile image of @Miut3 was changed from the Catwoman photo she always used to a photograph of Fuentes’ bloodied body.
Other citizen journalist routine use social media to anonymously expose cartels ike @ValorxTamaulipas and @hmatamoros were quick to condemn the murder vowing to continue the fight.
Breitbart Texas previously traveled to the cartel controlled city of Reynosa to meet with another citizen journalist and bring attention to his efforts to expose the same cartel.
A core group of citizen journalist in Reynosa refused to remain silent at the total blackout of the violence that took root in Reynosa and most of Tamaulipas in early 2010 when the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas went to war over drug territories and routes that continues to this day.
Since then local media outlets in Tamaulipas have refused to report the almost daily shootouts and cartel executions airing instead interviews with local government officials about new projects, tourism and the prosperity being felt in the state.
Follow Ildefonso Ortiz on Twitter @ildefonsoortiz.