MIAMI, Florida (May 30, 2018).-The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today condemned the murder of Mexican journalist Héctor González Antonio and called on the government to carry out a prompt and exhaustive investigation to determine responsibilities, learn the motive and prevent the crime from going unpunished, as has happened in other crimes against journalists in the country.
González Antonio, 40, was correspondent of the newspaper Excelsior and the Grupo Imagen group in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas state, in northeastern Mexico. His body was found yesterday (May 29) on an unpaved road and according to the state Public Prosecutor's Office he was believed to have been beaten to death. He also wrote for local media and was a stringer for several radio stations.
IAPA President Gustavo Mohme urged the authorities "to investigate and come up with results that enable the determination as soon as possible of the possible causes for the crime."
Mohme, editor of the Peruvian newspaper La República, added, "This is the same message that we have been reiterating for the past three decades for the dozens of journalists murdered in Mexico whose cases remain unpunished."
The chairman of the IAPA's Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Roberto Rock, added, "Both this condemnable murder and that of another four journalists this year must be investigated without delay or excuses and fully."
Rock, editor of the Mexican news portal La Silla Rota, praised "the journalists, mainly those in the interior of the country, who despite numerous risks and few guarantees for their safety continue reporting to the people."
González Antonio was the fifth journalist murdered this year, the other victims of the violence in Mexico were Juan Carlos Huerta, on May 15 in Tabasco, Leobrado Vázquez Atzin on March 21 in Veracruz, Pamela Montenegro del Real on February 5 in Guerrero and Carlos Domínguez on January 13 in Tamaulipas. The IAPA has called for solving of those murders in Mexico, regarded as one of the most dangerous countries in the world to work as a journalist.
The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida.
