UNESCO condemns crime against a journalist

MEXICO CITY (EFE).— The director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay, yesterday condemned the murder of Mexican security journalist Víctor Alfonso Culebro.

In a statement, the organization said the body of the informant, which showed signs of torture, was found on June 28 on the side of a highway in the state of Chiapas, following his disappearance was reported the day before.

“I condemn the murder of Culebro and I ask that the perpetrators of this crime be brought to justice,” Audrey demanded.

The Director General stressed the “fundamental role” of journalism, as it “provides information” to citizens, and called for the implementation of “effective protection mechanisms” to guarantee the safety of professionals.

According to UNESCO, Culebro directed the Facebook portal “Realidades,” which specializes in security issues, “criminal disputes linked to tourism” and the displacement of families in the region.

Thus, her case is included in the organization’s Observatory of Murdered Journalists, which was created in 1993 to “provide information” on professionals killed for carrying out their work.

This system places the number of journalists killed in the world between January and July 8, 2024 at 29; in Latin America and the Caribbean, at 7, and in Mexico, at 2.

During the six-year term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), and as of last April, 37 journalists were murdered, a figure that is close to that recorded during the mandate of his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto: from 2012 to 2018 there were 38.

In April, the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) accused the current president of having failed to keep his promise to end the killings of journalists and denounced his “hostile discourse” towards the media. Felipe Calderón’s six years in office (2006-2012) were the deadliest (51) in the last 30 years.