Reporter and radio presenter Armando Saldaña Morales was found dead near the bank of a stream in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on May 4, 2015. According to local newspapers, he was intercepted on his way home near Tezonapa, Veracruz on May 2. Saldaña Morales’ body reportedly showed signs of torture in addition to several bullet wounds and was discovered next to a white pick-up truck with no licence plates. The journalist had worked for local newspapers, such as El Mundo de Córdoba and La Crónica de Tierra Blanca, as well as for radio stations La Ke Buena y Radio Max. Initial reports indicated that Saldaña Morales’ abduction might be related to his recent reports on corruption and organized crime, including the assassination of former Cosolapa police chief Fermín Hernández Venegas and cases of “chupaductos”, i.e. illegal taps of state-owned Pemex oil. Authorities announced the arrest of one suspect in May 2015, Juan Carlos de la Cruz Vergara, but declined to list a motive. In late December 2015, authorities arrested a second suspect, Luis Hernández Hernández, who they said had ties to chupaducto bands.
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