On May 5, 2022 veteran journalist Luis Enrique Ramírez was found beaten to death, his body wrapped in plastic on the side of a road in Culiácan in Sinaloa, located on the western coast of Mexico.
Ramírez was a veteran journalist and columnist for newspaper El Debate, which is one the most-read media outlets in the country. He worked as a journalist for more than 40 years. Ramírez was a well-known figure who worked for several media outlets over the years including El País, Cuartoscuro, and Reforma. He recently founded a digital newspaper, Fuentes Fidedignas, where he reported local news.
According to media reports, Ramírez had felt threatened for several years because of his work. The killing of Ramírez was widely denounced by both governmental and private organisations and in July 2022 the Attorney General of Sinaloa, Sara Bruna Quiñonez Estrada, announced that the killers had been identified and the crime “solved”. A few days later a suspect was arrested for tampering with evidence. However, the suspect was released in August in anticipation of her trial, while arrest warrants have been issued for two other suspects.