Mexican Police Focus on Murdered Journalist’s Work for Motive

Authorities in Mexico are looking into the work of a slain journalist as one of the main motives for his murder Wednesday morning in the border state of Tamaulipas.

Antonio De La Cruz was driving his daughter to work on Wednesday in Ciudad Victoria when unknown gunmen shot him several times outside his home. De La Cruz was a longtime journalist at El Expreso. According to information released by the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office, De La Cruz was struck four times with .40 caliber rounds.

During a streamed news conference on Wednesday evening, Tamaulipas AG Irving Barrios said that .40 caliber weapons have been used in recent murders in Ciudad Victoria. However, during the daily news conference held by Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, federal authorities carrying out their own investigation revealed contradicting information, claiming that the weapons used were 9mm. Both federal and state officials have revealed that De La Cruz was not in any journalist protection program and there were no known threats against him.

 

 

Since De La Cruz was a journalist, state investigators are working under a special protocol for crimes against news workers, Barrios said. The investigation will focus on De La Cruz’s work, however, authorities will look at other possibilities as well.

The journalist’s murder sparked controversy since it marks the 13th of such cases this year.
Despite earning international criticism, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador continues to claim that murderers of journalists face justice under his administration. However, press freedom organizations are steadfast in arguing that impunity for such crimes is a core problem in Mexico.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.