"Mexico demands justice". Credit: Ruben Espinoza. All rights reserved.
On 31 July 2015 the photojournalist Rubén Espinosa was tortured and murdered in a house in Mexico City. His four female companions, including an activist from Veracruz, were raped, tortured, and also killed. While Veracruz, the city in which Espinosa worked, is known to be a hostile environment for journalists and activists, this is the first time that a journalist from Veracruz has had his safety compromised in the capital. The slaughter of Espinosa demonstrates not only how dire the situation for journalists in Mexico has become, but is exemplary of the way in which formally democratic countries like Mexico deal with political challengers.
According to Article 19, the international organization that promotes press freedom, Espinosa is the twelfth journalist from Veracruz to be killed since 2010. In light of that number, Veracruz can call itself the most dangerous state for journalists in Mexico, and, according to Reporters Without Borders, even one of the most dangerous places in the world.
