Ninth Mexican Journalist Murdered in Five Months

Mexico recorded the ninth murder of a journalist in a span of five months as cartel gunmen continue to silence investigative reporters.

The most recent murder took place when unknown gunmen shot and killed Luciano Rivera at a bar in the town of Rosarito in Baja California. Rivera was a journalist with the local news outlet CNR TV, Mexico’s Animal Politico reported. Initial information indicates Rivera was shot in the head during an altercation at a bar called La Antigua. The gunmen fled in a taxicab and have managed to elude capture.

Rivera is the ninth Mexican journalist murdered in a span of five months. Eight others were killed in a series of crimes that remain unsolved, Breitbart Texas reported. Despite the many assurances made by the Mexican government, 2017 has been one the deadliest years with murder statistics reaching record levels.

In June, Mexican authorities confirmed that a charred body found in a rural area in Michoacan belonged to Mexican journalist Salvador Adame, Breitbart Texas reported. The TV reporter was kidnapped a month prior by a team of cartel gunmen.

In May, gunmen shot and killed Javier Valdez, a trailblazing journalist who helped start Rio Doce, an independent news outlet exposing government corruption and cartel activity in Sinaloa, Breitbart Texas reported.

In March, La Linea faction of the Juarez Cartel murdered investigative journalist Miroslava Breach, Breitbart Texas reported. Prior to her death, Breach reported on the relatives of a leading cartel member trying to take political office in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon.  You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.