Carlos Castro, director of the news outlet Código Norte Veracruz, was shot and killed while inside a restaurant in the municipality of Poza Rica.
According to initial reports, the journalist was at the business he managed with his family when unknown, heavily armed individuals stormed in and shot him.
Castro covered security issues and had contributed to various media outlets, including Vanguardia, Noreste, La Opinión de Poza Rica, and Enfoque.
After the murder was reported, colleagues of the journalist told local media that the victim had a history of threats and that, in 2024, the State Commission for the Attention and Protection of Journalists had granted him protective measures, which were allegedly withdrawn months before the crime.
The state of Veracruz is considered one of the most dangerous for journalists, according to EFE.
From 2005 to 2024, 31 journalists were murdered, and four disappeared, according to figures from the State Commission for the Attention and Protection of Journalists.
Furthermore, in the municipality where Castro was attacked, there is a history of arrests of reporters linked to various crimes.
In 2020 alone, a correspondent for the newspaper La Opinión de Poza Rica and the news website Al Calor Político was arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of journalist María Elena Ferral on March 30 of that year.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Mexico ranks this year as the second “most dangerous country for journalists,” second only to Gaza, where the Israeli invasion left more than 120 journalists dead.
Source: laopinon
