A Mexican reporter was gunned down this morning alongside a top regional Zeta boss. He was killed along with four others and the regional boss for the Mexican cartel Los Zetas in the city of Orizaba Veracruz.
The shootout took place Thursday early morning at a bar in that Mexican city where the regional Zeta boss Jose Marquez “el Chichi” Balderas was gunned down along with four other men and Juan Heriberto Santos Cabrera, information released to Breitbart Texas by the Veracruz Attorney General’s Office revealed.
According to witness testimony, Veracruz officials claim that five gunmen stormed the bar and began shooting at the victims before leaving the place.
Two other reporters who were not identified were at the bar at the time of the shootout but they were not harmed and have been taken into custody.
Authorities rushing to the scene of the shooting ended up pursuing and fighting with the gunmen who managed to escape. Two members of Veracruz’s Civil Force were hurt in the shootout; one of them is listed in serious condition.
Mexico’s Proceso Magazine listed Santos Cabrera as a former reporter for Televisa who had been freelancing for various local online outlets.
His murder comes just two weeks after another Ruben Espinoza, a photographer with Proceso and other well-known outlets was tortured and murdered in Mexico City.
Rather than be tied to organized crime, Espinoza was an outspoken critic of Veracruz governor Javier Duarte who many have blamed for his death. Espinoza had been hiding out in Mexico City after receiving threats. A short glimpse of a yet un-aired documentary shows a chilling interview where Ruben Espinoza unknowingly predicted his death, Breitbart Texas reported. In an interview with Cuerdos De Atar TV from Spain, Espinosa casually talks about the dangers of his job and the likely consequences which ended up becoming true.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.