Gunmen Left Mexican Journalist On Bench After Shooting Him

Mexican journalists took to the streets of Acapulco City to demand justice for Alfredo Cardoso, the founder of Two Coasts digital media who died on Sunday in a hospital due to the shots he received on Friday. 

RELATED: 

Mexico: Migrant Caravan Refuses Relocation Proposals

"Armed men kidnapped Cardoso from his home and, after shooting him five times, they left him sitting on a bench. This crime cannot go unpunished; violence against journalists must stop in Acapulco City," protesters condemned.

Guerrero State Journalists Club President Miguel Mata also rejected that Acapulco Mayor Abelina Lopez blamed local media for "setting the alarm of violence when they should remain silent" since this statement criminalizes their trade. 

"Against all principles of press freedom, Lopez insinuated that we must silence the results of our investigations into organized crime. Instead of preventing us from developing our work, she should work to prosecute these crimes’ perpetrators," Mata stated.

Protesters will go to the National Human Rights Commission to file a complaint against Mayor Lopez for her words and the high level of violence suffered by journalists in the Guerrero State.

"To avoid that these crimes continue to occur, we must ensure that legal safeguards are in place to protect journalists in the exercise of their functions," Mata highlighted.

According to the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists, Mexico is the most violent country in the Western Hemisphere for journalists. Since 2000, at least 142 reporters have been killed for reprisals for their functions in this Latin American nation.