2nd Mexican Journalist Killed Today, 7th in 2017

The deputy director of a regional weekly and her son were attacked tonight in the municipality of Autlan de Navarro in Jalisco, Mexico. The young man died instantly, while his mother died on the way to the hospital, according to Tabasco Hoy, although the attorney general of Jalisco has not confirmed her death.

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Sonia Cordova, deputy director of El Costeño was in a car with her 26-years-old son, Hector Jonathan, when they were shot at by unidentified individuals at around 7 p.m. in the town's center. The assailants quickly escaped, making it difficult for any witnesses to identify them, as an investigation has been opened.

Earlier today, Javier Valdez, a correspondent covering the drug-related violence and crime beat in the state of Sinaloa for Mexico's largest daily newspaper, La Jornada, was shot dead around midday in Sinaloa's capital of Culiacan, home base for the notorious Sinaloa cartel previously run by jailed drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

The killings come just a day after 100 armed assailants suspected of being associated with the Michoacana family cartel attacked and robbed seven national and international journalists covering a security operation in the state of Guerrero, on the highway leading to Iguala, the town made famous by the disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training college in 2014.

According to a recent report by Article 19, the press freedom organization, 2016 was the most deadly year for the press in Mexico in the past decade with 11 journalists murdered and more than 400 attacks on media workers. The organization also found that perpetrators of these crimes get away with the murders 99.7 percent of the time.

At least 39 journalists have been killed since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, although other estimates are much higher.