The murder of a journalist in Puebla demonstrates the Mexican state's failure to protect press freedom

Original article in Spanish by Alberto Amaro Jordan www.laprensadetlaxcala.com. Translated with permission by Sheila Royce, Regional Coordinator for Central America and Mexico

The murder of community journalist and photographer Salomón “Shalom” Ordóñez Miranda on the night of Monday 23 June 2025 in Pahpatapan, Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla, is not an isolated incident: it is yet another blow to press freedom in a country that remains the deadliest in the world for journalism outside of a formal war context.

Ordóñez Miranda, founder of the digital media outlet Shalom Cuetzalan Producciones, dedicated his life to documenting the reality of his community, with work focused on issues of security, culture and social organisation. The journalist was shot and died while waiting for medical attention. To date, no arrests have been made, no public progress has been made, and most alarmingly, there is no guarantee that the incident will not be repeated.

Propuesta Cívica, an organisation that supports journalists at risk, condemned the crime and demanded that the Special Prosecutor's Office for Crimes against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) and the Puebla Prosecutor's Office exhaust all lines of investigation, including their reporting work. But, as is often the case, impunity prevails. The Mexican State arrives late or simply does not arrive at all.

This murder adds to a long list of crimes that demonstrate that practicing journalism in Mexico is a death sentence. Since the beginning of President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, at least six journalists have been murdered. According to Article 19, 172 journalists have been murdered in possible connection with their work from 2000 to the present.

The numbers speak for themselves: 48 journalists murdered under Felipe Calderón's administration, 47 during Enrique Peña Nieto's six-year term, and another 47 under Andrés Manuel López Obrador. How many more must die before the State understands that it's not just about protecting journalists after they've been threatened, but also about preventing those threats from turning into murders?

The current Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists has shown itself to be overwhelmed, lacking resources and, most seriously, lacking political will. It's not enough to deploy panic buttons or bulletproof vests once the alarm has been triggered. The real challenge is to stop the buttons having to be pressed in the first place.

An effective public policy to prevent attacks against journalists is urgently needed. So too are protocols with a territorial focus that understand the particular risks of local and community journalism. Structural measures are urgently needed to combat collusion between local authorities and organised crime, the main threat to those reporting from the country's most neglected regions.

According to the most recent report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Mexico ranks 124th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, falling three places compared to last year. No war has been declared, but there is an unofficial war against the truth. Against those who document it. Against those, like Salomón Ordóñez, who believed that a camera and a pen were enough to make the invisible visible.

Today, from Cuetzalan, there is the same cry that has emerged from so many other communities where silence is imposed at gunpoint: you can’t kill journalism by killing journalists. But this slogan needs to cease being a desperate cry and become a real commitment of the Mexican State.

Because freedom of expression is not a concession: it is a right. And defending it is everyone's responsibility, though primarily the responsibility of those who swore to protect it.

Justice for Shalom. Justice for all murdered journalists. Prevention, not just reaction.

Link to Amnesty report: “No One Guarantees my Safety: The urgent need to strengthen Mexico’s federal policies for the protection of journalists”.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AMR4176662024ENGLISH.pdf