Another Mexican Journalist Murdered As Violence Escalates

News of yet another journalist murdered in Mexico has surfaced as police launch an investigation into the assassination of crime reporter Jose Chan Dzib, shot dead in Quintana Roo on Friday.

RELATED: 

Mexico: Widow of Murdered Candidate Continues His Campaign

Chan Dzib was approached in the Feliube Carrillo Puerto nightclub by an unknown gunman who, without exchanging any words, shot the journalist four times. The attacker fled the scene and those who witnessed the murder were unable to say if he was alone.

The attack occurred at approximately 11p.m. local time, the Prosecutors Office said, without releasing any additional information.

According to another local journalist, Pedro Canche, Chan Dzib worked closely with police as a crime reporter with Playa News and belonged to the third generation of the Quintana Roo Police School. He also contributed to several print media outlets.

Mexico's Human Rights Commission said he had been threatened more than once while living in Playa del Carmen, and that they are in contact with his relatives and colleagues.

A report by the National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) notes that from 2000 to January 2018, at least 131 journalists have been murdered in Mexico.

In a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the NGO denounced the violence disrupting the country, with more than 25,000 murders and thousands of disappearances reported last year.

HRW's director for the Americas, Jose Miguel Vivanco, said the state of human rights in Mexico is "very, very serious. There is no protection in Mexico."

At least 130 politicians running for local and state positions in the July 1 general and presidential elections have been killed since the beginning of the 2018 campaign period in September.

The Organization of American States (OAS) has calculated that, on average, one political candidate is killed every four or five days in Mexico. Since September 2017, 115 political candidates from various parties have been murdered.

The underwhelming response from state officials to femicides and the murder of journalists and politicians bodes badly for the future safety and security of Mexico, HRW Assistant Director Raquel Aguilera told RTVE.