The murder of journalists in Mexico continues unabated. Earlier this year, Armando Linares López and Roberto Toledo, both from media outlet Monitor Michoacán, were killed just 43 days apart in Zitácuaro, Michoacán, in west-central Mexico – brutal examples of the failure of the justice system and the impunity that prevails in the country. Linares, who was shot eight times, is the eighth journalist to be murdered in 2022, but sadly, he will not be the last.
Linares was the director of Monitor Michoacán. After his death, the publication shut down. This forced closing of media outlets, due to fear of further attacks, is common – it mirrors the vulnerability that plagues the press. Linares, whose death was preceded by dozens of threats, had previously pointed to those at fault in a video: “We hold the municipal authorities of Zitácuaro, Michoacán, responsible for any attack on our staff.”
Following Linares’ death, the deputy director of Monitor Michoacán, Joel Vera, said in a statement on Facebook: “The Special Prosecutor's Office for Crimes against Freedom of Expression has in its possession evidence of the perpetrators of the murder of our director. However, the state government and the attorney general's office have shown a lack of interest in finding those responsible, both the perpetrators and the masterminds, since the killers are among the ranks of both.”
