Mexico City, June 12, 2026—Mexican authorities must immediately and credibly investigate the killing of journalist Luis Ángel López and determine the motive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
López was shot and killed around 1 a.m. on June 11, 2026, in Poza Rica, a city in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, according to news reports and a statement released by the Veracruz State Commission for Attention to and Protection of Journalists (CEAPP) on Facebook on the same day. According to the reports, López, a reporter for regional newspaper Vanguardia, was shot by unknown assailants on the same road where journalist Carlos Castro was shot and killed in January, CPJ previously reported.
“The brutal slaying of Luis Ángel López is shocking, especially given that he was killed near the same spot where another journalist lost his life just a few months prior. These killings serve as a reminder that Mexico continues to be the most dangerous place for journalists in the western hemisphere, with Veracruz maintaining its abysmal status as the deadliest state for the press in the country,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative. “Only by bringing the attackers to justice can Mexican authorities break the cycle of violence and impunity that continues to plague the Mexican press.”
López covered crime and violence in Poza Rica and its surrounding areas for Vanguardia, according to a statement published by the newspaper on its Facebook page. CPJ was unable to find specific articles written by López on Vanguardia’s website, as most articles on crime and security do not carry a byline. Several telephone calls by CPJ to the paper for comment were not answered.
The newspaper reported on the same day as the killing that López had received threats and was incorporated by the CEAPP in a state-sponsored protection program. In another article, the paper said that unspecified “clashes” between the reporter and municipal police officers in Poza Rica were one of the lines of investigation of the Veracruz state prosecutor’s office (FGE).
Luis Baqueiro, the president of the CEAPP, clarified to CPJ via messaging app that López had received some financial assistance from his agency, but that he had not been subject to any protection measures. An official for the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, an agency of the Mexican federal government, told CPJ via messaging app on Thursday that his office was unaware of any threats against López’s life.
Several telephone calls by CPJ to the Veracruz state prosecutor’s office for comment were not answered.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.