Miami (July 17, 2026) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemns the murder of journalist Josué Martínez Contreras, director of the digital news outlet Noticias San Martín Texmelucan, which occurred on July 16 in Puebla, Mexico. The hemispheric organization calls on authorities to conduct a swift, thorough, and independent investigation to identify those responsible and determine whether the crime was related to his journalistic work.
Martínez Contreras, known as Josué Mac or “El Jaguar,” was also a lawyer and professor. According to press reports, he was shot by unidentified assailants who arrived by motorcycle at his home in the community of San Lucas Atoyatenco, where they opened fire in front of his 13-year-old son and his mother.
Through Noticias San Martín Texmelucan, an informational Facebook page, the journalist primarily shared local news and covered security issues and high-impact events in the region, according to the organization Article 19.
Family members stated that months earlier he had received threats related to information he published about a criminal group. Shortly after the murder, media outlets reported the circulation of a previously recorded video in which Martínez Contreras denounced alleged threats against him. This background underscores the need to clarify the circumstances of the attack and determine whether there was any connection to his journalistic work, according to media reports.
IAPA President Pierre Manigault expressed concern over “the persistent violence against journalists in Mexico” and recalled that “impunity in these crimes encourages further attacks against the press.” Manigault, president of Evening Post Publishing Inc., based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, urged Mexican authorities “not to rule out journalistic work as a possible line of investigation and to ensure justice for the victim and his family.”
The chair of the IAPA Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Martha Ramos, stated that “every murder of a journalist represents a direct attack on society’s right to be informed.” Ramos, editorial director of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), said that “authorities have the obligation to investigate these crimes diligently and guarantee justice for the victims and their families.”
The 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.
