No Justice for Journalists: Regina Martinez's Death Still Remains Unsolved The Washington Post
go to original December 1, 2016

Hundreds of protesters in the Mexican state of Veracruz marked the anniversary of the death of journalist Regina Martinez, who they claim was murdered because of her work. (Euronews)

The death of reporter Regina Martinez was almost too much for her colleagues to bear.

Four others already had been murdered in Veracruz state in the first two years of Gov. Javier Duarte's term. But Martinez was an inspiration. The 48-year-old correspondent for the investigative weekly Proceso was famous for exposing abuse and corruption in an oil-rich state overrun by organized crime and a political system as opaque as its southern jungles.

If she wasn't safe, no one was.

For journalists, Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, and Veracruz is its deadliest state. Their murderers are not brought to justice.

In the last six years under Duarte, 18 journalists were killed, three of them just this year. Another three have disappeared. In that same six years, 37 journalists were killed or disappeared in all of Mexico — eight so far this year.

Press advocates can name only one case that has resulted in a conviction — Martinez's murder. And there are many reasons to believe that the man sitting in jail is not her killer.

The violence is often blamed on Mexico's drug cartels. They pick certain journalists to control their colleagues' coverage with money, threats or both.

But according to the government's own statistics, public officials are suspected in a third of all attacks on journalists. That number climbs to 81 percent for Veracruz, where silencing the press has been an effective shield for rampant graft and other malfeasance.

Federal and local governments pay millions to news outlets for what they call official publicity. And as the late Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo once said, "I don't pay them to hit me."

Martinez was different. She had a professional degree and lived modestly on a better-than-average wage from a national magazine, not allowing a source or contact to buy her as much as a Coca-Cola. Among the 18 killings, hers resonates most, even four years later, as the consequence in Mexico for speaking truth to power.

Read the rest at The Washington Post

Related: 800 Journalists Murdered Since 2006: The Ultimate Form of Censorship (Lindah Mogeni)

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