After Murder of Journalist, Sinaloa Press Is Self-Censoring, But Seeks International Support Paola Nalvart - Journalism in the Americas
go to original September 21, 2017

Javier Valdez poses with his book "Narco-Journalism." (EFE)

The press in Sinaloa, in northwestern Mexico, no longer conducts investigative journalism following the death of Javier Valdez, a journalist from the Sinaloan weekly newspaper Ríodoce, who was killed on May 15 of this year.



When they killed Valdez, they practically murdered freedom of expression in Sinaloa, said a visibly upset Alejandro Sicairos, one of the founders of Ríodoce and a colleague and close friend of Valdez.

"They selected the victim well, because Javier was a journalist who had a very important international projection, who for us journalists in Sinaloa was an emblem of the activity, that had to be done with all responsibility, courage and professionalism. (...) It's another blow, let's say the kill shot, for journalism in Mexico," Sicairos, also current director of Asociación de Periodistas y Comunicadores 7 de Junio, told the Knight Center.

Valdez, founder and reporter of Ríodoce, and correspondent of La Jornada, was killed in cold blood by unknown individuals who blocked him in the street, forced him out of his car and asked him to kneel before shooting him twelve times. The journalist produced investigative journalism on drug trafficking and organized crime in Sinaloa.

According to Sicairos, investigations into his death remain stagnant. Four months after the murder of Valdez, state and federal prosecutors have still not found those responsible.

With at least 11 journalists killed so far in 2017, generally because of their journalistic work, Mexico is currently experiencing one of the bloodiest waves of violence in recent years.

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