Journalists in Mexico are once again denouncing the murder of one of their own who died at the hands of a team of gunmen. The attack came despite the victim being under police protection.
The murder took place on Sunday afternoon in the city of Celaya, Guanajuato, where Alberto “El Llanero (Ranger)” Martinez Nonguez died during a targeted attack. Mexico’s Proceso reported Martinez was riding in a transit police vehicle with two officers assigned as his security detail when a team of gunmen ambushed them. The officers fought off the attack and rushed Martinez to a local hospital, where he died soon after. The two officers also sustained injuries and are listed as stable.
Martinez had been a long-time crime journalist who had been assigned 24-hour police protection after surviving an assassination attempt in 2022. At that time, a team of gunmen tried to kill him as he was leaving his home. After that attack, Martinez had largely shifted his reporting to car wrecks and minor crimes. He was returning from covering the scene of an auto-pedestrian crash when the attack took place, Proceso reported.
On his Facebook page, Martinez’s relatives asked for prayers as they announced the murder on his behalf with the quote, “Pray for my eternal rest.”
In recent years, the state of Guanajuato has seen a dramatic rise in violence as rival criminal organizations, including Cartel Jalisco New Generation and the remnants of the fuel theft gang Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima, continue a fierce turf war.
The killing of Martinez comes at a time when press freedom groups continue to consider Mexico one of the deadliest countries for news workers. Mexico’s government has dismissed claims of violence against journalists, claiming that impunity has ended under the current administration.
In July, a group of gunmen kidnapped and killed journalist Victor Alfonso Culebro in the state of Chiapas, Breitbart Texas reported.
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.
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