Two Mexican Journalists Murdered in Less Than 24 Hours

Gunmen shot and killed two journalists in less than 24 hours in separate incidents in Mexico. The killings come as press freedom organizations continue to point to Mexico as one of the most dangerous places for news workers.

The most recent killing took place on Wednesday afternoon in the state of Colima. According to information released by the state attorney general’s office, a lone gunman shot Patricia Ramirez Gonzalez at a restaurant where she operated.

Ramirez Gonzalez is known as Paty Bunbury, an entertainment reporter for Hechos newspaper. According to the press freedom organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), it remains unclear if her work in the news business played a role in her killing.

The killing comes less than 24 hours after a gunman shot and killed Mauricio Cruz Solis in the Mexican state of Michoacan in an unrelated separate case. As Breitbart Texas reported, Cruz Solis died just moments after finishing a livestream where he interviewed the mayor of the city of Uruapan over local issues.

In that case, shortly after the interview, a vehicle pulled up right in front of them. A gunman got out of the vehicle and fired at Cruz Solis four times before getting back inside and fleeing.

The killing is the second of its kind under the administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and the second in less than 24 hours. CPJ and other press freedom organizations have been calling out Mexico’s government for years for its poor efforts in stopping journalist killings.

“The brutal killing of Paty Bunbury is especially shocking, as it comes less than a day after her colleague Mauricio Cruz was killed,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative, in a prepared statement. “The killings demonstrate the urgent need for President Sheinbaum to take steps to protect the press from violence.”

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.