MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — The Mexican government on Thursday blamed drug traffickers for the murders of two journalists in the northwestern border city of Tijuana in January that triggered international condemnation.
Prosecutors believe reporter Lourdes Maldonado was killed by remnants of the Arellano Felix cartel because of her allegations against drug dealers, Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejia said.
The group’s alleged leader, nicknamed Cabo 16, is one of 13 suspects that have been detained in connection with the crime, he told reporters.
“This same group was the one that murdered her colleague Margarito Martinez,” Mejia said.
Martinez, a photojournalist, was shot on January 17 in Tijuana.
Maldonado was killed six days later despite being in an official protection program.
They are among eight journalists murdered so far this year in the Latin American country, according to media rights groups.
The government considers that six of them were killed because of their work.
More than 150 journalists have been murdered since 2000 in Mexico, one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media.
The United States and the European Parliament have urged Mexico to ensure adequate protection for journalists, irking President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has vowed “zero impunity.”
© Agence France-Presse