Miami (July 10, 2023) - The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemned the murder of journalist Luis Martín Sánchez Íñiguez and the kidnappings of two other reporters in Nayarit, Mexico. The organization called on the authorities to provide protection and immediate attention to the situation of risk faced by journalists in the course of their work in the country.
IAPA President Michael Greenspon expressed "the organization's solidarity with the family and colleagues of Sánchez Íñiguez." Greenspon, the Global Head of Licensing & Print Innovation for The New York Times, urged the authorities "not to lower their guard and to investigate the murder and kidnappings quickly and thoroughly."
Sánchez Íñiguez, a correspondent for the newspaper La Jornada in the state of Nayarit, had been missing since July 5. The body of the 59-year-old journalist was found on July 8 in the city of Tepic. The state Attorney General's Office reported that his murder and the disappearances last week of journalists Jonathan Lora Ramírez and Osiris Maldonado de la Paz, were related to his work. The three had collaborated on journalistic and personal projects. Lora Ramirez and Maldonado de la Paz were found alive days later.
The president of the Commission on Freedom of the Press and Information, Carlos Jornet, editor of La Voz del Interior, of Argentina, added that "investigating to know the motive, pointing out and judging those responsible for the crime and the kidnappings is the way to face the impunity of violence against journalists in the country."
Sánchez Íñiguez was violently taken from his home in the community of El Armadillo, from where his computer and a hard drive were also allegedly taken.
The IAPA's Chapultepec Index report on press freedom ranks Mexico 17th out of 22 countries. Among the most significant press freedom problems, the Index highlights that "violence exercised against the journalistic guild can be considered at this time as uncontainable. Neglect by authorities continues to be an ongoing conduct: They do not carry out investigations to seek justice or to prevent attacks on journalists and human rights defenders."
In addition to Sánchez Íñiguez, Marco Aurelio Ramírez, a journalist and contributor to Periódico Central and Central Puebla in Puebla, was also murdered this year on May 23. Twenty journalists were murdered in Mexico in 2022.
IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere; and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.
