Police found the remains of Radio Linea Directa crime reporter Jose Luis Romero wrapped in a black bag near Los Mochis city, in Sinaloa province, on Saturday. Bullet wounds were found in his head and shoulder, and his hands and leg were broken, news reports said.
On 30 December, Romero was abducted at gunpoint from a restaurant in Los Mochis, according to the Associated Press (AP). The chief investigator into the kidnapping was murdered a few hours later. Romero’s body was found by a highway near Los Mochis.
Rolando Bon Lopez, an assistant state prosecutor in Sinaloa, said that Romero was killed shortly after his abduction, based on the condition of the body, AP reported.
In response to the continuing murder and harassment of journalists in Mexico, senators have proposed the creation of a new law, incorporating the concept of “high-risk journalism,” under which journalists who are attacked would be guaranteed medical care.
The draft law would also allow journalists who are considered at risk or have been threatened to request protection from the authorities for themselves and their families, and for the media premises where they work. The new law would also affirm journalists’ right to protect the confidentiality of their sources.
IPI Director David Dadge said: “Some elements of the draft law, such as access to medical care and the protection of sources, are praiseworthy. However, we are concerned that armed protection for journalists will not actually address the root problem – which is the impunity enjoyed by the killers. Such armed protection could lead to deadly fire-fights and might result in innocent civilians being caught in the crossfire. If this were to happen the journalist would no longer be viewed as an independent reporter and would inevitably become part of the news.”
Romero is the second Mexican journalist to be killed this year, in an unrelenting spree of assassinations targeting reporters who cover drug trafficking and crime.
Last year, IPI recorded the murder of at least 11 journalists in the country:
13 February 2009: Jean Paul Ibarra Ramírez
3 May 2009: Carlos Ortega Samper
26 May 2009: Eliseo Barrón Hernández
12 July 2009: Martín Javier Miranda Avilés
14 July 2009: Ernesto Montañez Valdivia
27 July 2009: Juan Daniel Martínez Gil
23 September 2009: Norberto Miranda Madrid
11 October 2009: Fabián Ramírez López
2 November 2009: José Bladimir Antuna García
25 November 2009: José Emilio Galindo Robles
22 December 2009: Alberto Velazquez Lopez
