He had been threatened with death in December 2021 by bloggers. Margarito Martinez, a Mexican photojournalist was murdered Monday, January 17, in Tijuana in northwestern Mexico.
A contributor to several Mexican publications, the photographer was killed at midday near his home in Tijuana, a border town with the United States, announced the Baja California State Security Ministry. The photographer, who specializes in police affairs, was the target of“gun attack”, according to the press release from the regional ministry.
Margarito Martinez, 49, was threatened in December 2021 by bloggers, explained the NGO YoSiSoyPeriodista (“I am a journalist”), which is asking the authorities for protective measures for journalists. The General Prosecutor’s Office announced the opening of an investigation, stating: “Freedom of expression, in all its forms, is a fundamental right of citizens. »
At least seven journalists killed in 2021
In the state of Veracruz, the state commission for the protection of journalists asked the state prosecutor’s office to implement the “investigation protocol for crimes once morest freedom of expression” following the homicide of José Luis Gamboa, stabbed on January 10 in the port of Veracruz. His body was not identified until four days later by his family.
The victim no longer worked as a journalist but as a social media analyst, according to a local source. He was not subject to any “history of assault” or of ” threat “ and he was unprotected, according to the state commission.
Mexico is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, exposed to reprisals from drug cartels at work in several of the country’s thirty-two states. At least seven journalists were killed there in 2021, according to a count by Agence France-Presse, which tries each time to establish whether the victim was still active, and whether he was killed for his investigations. or its articles.
A hundred journalists have been killed since 2000, according to figures from the Commission on Human Rights.
