Nayarit, Mexico

The body of a missing 59-year-old Mexican journalist was found in the country’s Nayarit with signs of violence, said the state public prosecutor’s office, on Saturday (July 8). This comes days after Mexican journalist Luis Martín Sanchez Iniguez was reported missing last week. 

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What do we know about the case so far?

Mexican journalist, Sanchez Iniguez, worked for the newspaper La Jornada and was said to be missing since Wednesday. However, it was not until Friday that his wife filed a missing persons report with Mexican authorities. 

Sanchez Iniguez was found dead in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, reported the La Jornada, on Saturday, adding that the discovery was made on the outskirts of the state capital, Tepic. However, it was not until later that the state public prosecutor’s office confirmed the identification of the body. 

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The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. “The body was found with signs of violence, and two handwritten signs were found on it,” the prosecutor said in a statement. However, the content of the notes was not revealed. 

Reports suggest that handwritten signs are frequently left by drug cartels with the bodies of victims. The motive for the suspected killing is still under investigation.

The officials also estimated the time of his death around 24 to 48 hours prior to the finding of his body. Sanchez Iniguez was reportedly last seen in the town of Xalisco, in Nayarit near Tepic, which has long been linked to the smuggling of drugs like heroin and opium.

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How was the body discovered?

Sanchez Iniguez’s body was discovered when the police were in the midst of investigating two other potential crimes in the state against media workers. Another media worker was also reported missing in the Mexican state on July 4. 

The Mexican media has identified him as Osiris Maldonado, who was also said to have previously worked with La Jornada. According to officials, the media worker was last seen when he left for work at a school the prior morning. 

The recent incident also comes days after two masked men broke into the apartment of journalist Jonathan Lora Ramirez, who also lives in Xalisco, and forced him into a car, on July 7. It was later reported that Lora Ramirez has been found alive and “in a good state of health,” while officials are in the midst of investigating the crime of illegal detention.

Nayarit about cases of violence against media workers

Officials in the Mexican state of Nayarit said that they immediately opened investigations once the cases were reported and are following special protocols for journalists and human rights defenders.

The prosecutor’s office of Nayarit, in a statement also said, “In accordance with what is established provisions into the applicable protocols, it is necessary to take into consideration the activities of the victims who put them at a greater degree of vulnerability.” 

Mexico and violence against media workers

Mexico has consistently ranked among the deadliest countries for media workers, according to press freedom groups. Last year, an annual report by the free speech group Article 19 found that 696 crimes were committed against Mexican media workers. 

This amounted to nearly one attack against a journalist every 13 hours, said the report published in March 2023. “In Mexico, journalists are killed, but they are also intimidated and silenced systematically and recurrently through harassment, stigmatization, threats and the illegitimate use of public power,” the Article 19 report stated. 

The number has also risen under the administration of incumbent Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by as much as 85 per cent in the first half of his term compared to his predecessor’s, reported Reuters. 

(With inputs from agencies) 

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