For Alejandro Martínez, reporting on menacing happenings and accidents across the crime-ridden city of Celaya in central Mexico was a daily routine – a risk-filled profession that led the government to grant him a protective detail. However, in a tragic turn of events, his life was abruptly ended by unknown perpetrators on Sunday, proving that even his official security measures were insufficient against the rising shadows of crime.
The dangers associated with Martínez’s profession were so severe, it necessitated the presence of a dedicated, government-appointed security detail accompanying him to his rounds. However, darkness struck on Sunday, demonstrating that not even his state-provided protectors could prevent his untimely demise at age 57.
Martínez had just rounded off a livestream session on Facebook where he reported on a road incident on the outskirts of Celaya. As he was being transported back to the city in a police vehicle, armed individuals in another car approached and opened fire on him. This unexpected attack left two local traffic enforcement deputies, accompanying him in the vehicle, seriously injured.
Upon the closure of what would be his final livestream, Martínez bid his followers farewell in his usual manner, having no clue of the fate that awaited him. Local law enforcement has stated that the two officers immediately transported Martínez to a nearby health facility, but sadly, he succumbed to his injuries shortly afterward. Evidence of the violent assault was clear, with local media outlets documenting multiple visible bullet holes on the vehicle.
The murder of this reputed newsman ignited a search for his killers, with prosecutors and a team of forensic experts assigned to the case. This information came from the office of the attorney general in Guanajuato, the state in which Celaya exists. However, it was still uncertain whether the attackers primarily intended to target Martínez or if their primary focus was on the accompanying police officers.
Martínez, often affectionately referred to as ‘the voice of Celaya’ for his relentless dedication to reporting local news and offenses, was well-loved and will be deeply missed. His work had made him the target of a previous planned attack in 2022, which led him to seek additional protection from both state and federal institutions. Since then, he had never pursued his work without his guard detail and abstained from crime scenes and shooting incidents altogether.
Celaya, once a vibrant center of prosperity and peace in Guanajuato, had significantly deteriorated over the past few years, despite its critical position in national transport networks and a thriving automotive industry that attracted families hankering for its alluring colonial architecture.
A brutal power struggle between the influential Jalisco New Generation cartel and the local Santa Rosa de Lima cartel led to a surge of bloodshed, disappearance, and vacant stares, impacting people from all walks of life—from politicians with lofty ambitions to street vendors battling extortion, and families vainly searching for lost loved ones.
Data from Common Cause, a Mexican organization, reveals that from the beginning of 2023, an alarming 98 police officers have lost their lives due to violence in Guanajuato, 41 of whom were stationed in Celaya itself.
Journalists have not been excluded from the spectrum of victims. A saddening example of this pattern was the discovery of Víctor Manuel Jiménez Campos’s remains, a fellow reporter from Celaya who vanished in 2020 after covering a baseball event, in a well alongside other unidentifiable corpses.
Balbina Flores, the Mexican representative for the international entity, Reporters Without Borders, commented on the tragedy, asking who is responsible for safeguarding journalists in a nation trapped in a cycle of violence that shows no signs of easing.
Statistics reveal Mexico to be the most perilous among the Americas for journalists who, besides war-torn areas, face the most severe dangers worldwide. Since the start of the millennium, 166 Mexican journalists have been killed due to their line of work, as per the press freedom organization, Article 19.
Sadly, 47 of these occurred during the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who assured on his first day in office that no further journalists would be murdered under his governance. However, despite his promises, the killing spree has continued to a point where Flores expressed skepticism towards his administration’s commitment to protecting journalists.
López Obrador has, instead, pivoted towards criticizing press scrutiny and blaming his political adversaries for leveraging the plight of journalists to tarnish his administration. He posited that the negative narrative surrounding journalists’ deaths seems to be a phenomenon peculiar to his tenure during a press conference in March.
Alejandro Martínez, unfortunately, joins the ranks of at least ten journalists who have been killed despite governmental protection, according to Flores. Five of these incidents have taken place during López Obrador’s time in office, adding a grim reminder for the journalists working across the nation.
Amnesty International reveals more than 650 journalists in Mexico were living under state protection as of November from last year. Still, the number of requests denied by the state has been steadily increasing. Florence emphasized the lack of comprehensive policy evaluating the measures offered to journalists in high-risk regions like Guanajuato.
As Mexico’s newly elected President, Claudia Sheinbaum, prepares for her impending office in October, she affirms her dedication towards revising the country’s protective measures for press workers, prioritizes finding missing journalists, and regularly scrutinizes potential safety threats against news outlets. These strategies are a subtle yet robust attempt aimed at curbing the rising violence.
When asked during an interview in 2021 if he had gotten accustomed to the endemic violence in Celaya, Martínez responded with a resounding ‘No’. He revealed his deep despair at the transformed face of his city, stating, ‘It hurts me to see Celaya like this. It hurts me to see everything that is happening. It hurts me to see dead people.’ A moment later, after wiping the tears off his face, he re-emphasized, ‘All of this hurts me.’
Reputed Mexican Journalist Alejandro Martínez Murdered Despite Government Protection appeared first on Real News Now.
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