Another Mexican journalist has been killed, suspects arrested
Heber López Vásquez
In what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called the deadliest country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere, Mexican authorities have arrested two people after the murder of a Mexican journalist, who has now become the fifth reporter to die in a month probably because of his work.
In Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, 39-year-old Heber López Vásquez was shot when entering his home. He was the founder and editor of NoticiasWeb and RCP Noticias, and previously worked as a reporter for Meganoticias. A news website based in Oaxaca reported that he has been a journalist for about 18 years.
The day before he was killed, López published an article accusing Arminda Espinosa Cartas, a former municipal official in Salina Cruz, of corruption. According to him, she had pressured locals to vote for her in municipal elections next month.
On Saturday, the CPJ said that prosecutor César González told them that police had caught and arrested two suspects.
The media reported that one of the arrested could be Espinosa Cartas' brother, identified only as "Ricardo N." CPJ said it had asked González if that was true, but he refused to comment.
According to the state prosecutor, Arturo Peimbert, he failed to offer details on the motive of the killing, but did not exclude the possibility that Lopez was targeted for his work.
Hernandez was the fifth journalist killed in Mexico since mid-January, along with reporters José Luis Gamboa and Lourdes Maldonado, photographer Margarito Martinez, and media worker Roberto Toledo in Zitácuaro.
The brutal killing of Heber López, the fifth such attack in less than six weeks, is part of an unprecedented and shocking series of deadly attacks against journalists, said CPJ's Mexico representative, Jan-Albert Hootsen.
“These killings will only stop with genuine, decisive actions by Mexican authorities, who must determine whether López was killed because of his work and bring all those involved to justice,” he said.
