Key facts
- Journalist Luis Ángel López Valdez was shot and killed by gunmen in Poza Rica, Veracruz.
- López Valdez worked for the Vanguardia de Veracruz newspaper and directed a local media outlet.
- He specialized in reporting on police and security matters.
- This is the second journalist killed in Veracruz this year.
- Authorities are investigating the attack, considering a link to his work.
- Mexico is recognized as a highly dangerous country for journalists.
Gunmen shot and killed journalist Luis Ángel López Valdez on Thursday in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, authorities confirmed. López Valdez, who specialized in police and security reporting, was the director of a local media outlet and a reporter for the Vanguardia de Veracruz newspaper. He was reportedly walking on a street in Poza Rica when he was attacked at close range before the assailants fled.
This incident marks the second killing of a media worker in Veracruz this year, a state known for its extreme danger to journalists. A reporter covering crime in the same city was killed in January. Additionally, journalist Roxana Guzmán Ramírez, director of the digital news site Pulso Informativo, has been missing since early June in Nanchital, southern Veracruz.
Authorities are investigating the attack, with the Veracruz prosecutor’s office indicating that one line of investigation connects the killing to López Valdez's journalistic work. A colleague told The Associated Press that the journalist was under state protection measures, a detail the State Commission for the Attention and Protection of Journalists had not immediately confirmed.
International organizations consider Mexico one of the most dangerous countries for practicing journalism outside of war zones, with reporters covering organized crime, corruption, and public security frequently facing threats, attacks, and murder. Freedom of expression organizations like Article 19 have documented 31 journalist murders in Veracruz since 2000 that could be linked to their reporting.