This Is How They Entered to Kidnap Journalist Roxana Guzmán.
She was murdered days later in Veracruz, Mexico.
Her murder remains unpunished.
MEXICO: 169 JOURNALISTS MURDERED. ALARMING IMPUNITY.
MORE THAN 99%
A chilling figure: 168 of the 169 journalist murders documented since 2006 have not been fully solved. In Mexico, investigating, exposing wrongdoing and publishing the truth can become a death sentence.
MEXICO, NOVEMBER 3, 2026.
In Mexico, being a journalist can mean living under constant threat. Investigating organized crime, exposing corruption or revealing links between criminal organizations and sectors of political power can have devastating consequences. For hundreds of media professionals, exercising the right to inform the public has become an extremely dangerous occupation.
The figures are brutal. According to research conducted by our colleagues at Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Consortium of Journalists JMH, 169 journalists were murdered in Mexico between 2006 and 2026. Of these crimes, 168 remain unresolved in full. This represents more than 99% of the total.
These are not merely statistics. They represent 169 lives destroyed, families who lost their loved ones and communities deprived of voices capable of investigating and exposing what others want to keep hidden.
THE LAW OF SILENCE: KILLING TO STOP THE NEWS
Organized crime and corruption are among the main factors driving violence against the Mexican press. RSF warns about the presence of political-criminal power structures seeking to control information and prevent journalists from investigating their activities.
Threats, kidnappings, assaults, torture and murders are among the methods used to impose silence.
One of the most revealing figures is that 166 of the 169 murdered journalists — 98% — worked for local media outlets or covered local events. At least 34 victims showed signs of torture before their deaths.
The violence sends a message that goes far beyond each individual victim: a warning to other journalists that investigating may cost them their lives.
IMPUNITY: MORE THAN 99% OF CRIMES NOT FULLY SOLVED
Impunity is one of the most serious dimensions of this tragedy.
According to RSF, 168 of the 169 documented murders have not been fully solved. Although some investigations have made partial progress and convictions have been secured against direct perpetrators, identifying those who ordered the attacks and establishing the motives behind these crimes remain enormous challenges.
The situation involving missing journalists adds another dimension of horror. Between 2006 and 2026, at least 43 media professionals disappeared in Mexico. Nineteen were located: 13 dead and six alive. Another 24 remain missing.
Every unresolved case represents an open wound. It also sends a message of vulnerability to those who continue working in the country's most dangerous regions.
LOCAL JOURNALISTS: THE MOST VULNERABLE
Local reporters are the main victims of this violence. They work close to the events they cover, know the people involved and often investigate the very groups exercising territorial control.
In small newsrooms, radio stations, digital media outlets and regional publications, numerous journalists carry out their work without the resources, protection or visibility enjoyed by major national and international media organizations.
RSF identifies Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chihuahua and Tamaulipas among the states accounting for approximately half of the murders recorded over the past two decades.
In these territories, reporting on crime, politics and corruption can mean confronting criminal interests capable of resorting to extreme violence.
AN EMERGENCY THAT DEMANDS ACTION
Reporters Without Borders and the International Consortium of Journalists JMH are calling for an emergency national response to the continued murders and persistent impunity. Protection measures must be effective, and investigations must reach not only those who physically carry out the attacks but also those who plan and order them.
Protecting a journalist only after receiving a threat is not enough. It is essential to prevent attacks, investigate every complaint and ensure that those responsible cannot continue acting with impunity.
Press freedom does not simply mean allowing a media outlet to publish a news story. It truly exists when journalists can investigate, ask questions and expose wrongdoing without having to choose between their profession and their own lives.
MAIN SOURCES: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Consortium of Journalists JMH
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL REPORT
WORLD ORGANIZATION BULYING SIN FRONTERAS
International Observatory for Security and Prevention — BSF
