During the night of Sunday 11 October, police in Mexico’s Sinaloa region discovered the body of missing radio presenter Fabián Ramírez López.

Ramírez López was last seen alive on Friday 9 as he left home for work.

His body was found hidden among bushes in the coastal city of Mazatlán, following an anonymous telephone tip-off to La Magia 97.1, the radio station he worked for.

The radio presenter’s throat had been slit, and the letters ‘YTTS’ had been carved onto his back.

According to IPI’s figures, this latest killing brings the total number of journalists murdered in Mexico this year to at least six, further reinforcing the country’s position as one the world’s most dangerous in which to practice journalism.

Only in Somalia, where six journalists have been killed, and Pakistan, where seven journalists have been killed, have similar figures been recorded since the beginning of 2009.

“Economically, Mexico ranks at the top end of the global table, alongside many Western democratic nations,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “Disgracefully, it also occupies the top end of the table for journalists murdered – placing it alongside countries like Somalia, ravaged for years by civil war. The Mexican authorities must do more to find the perpetrators if they wish to avoid this comparison overshadowing all other perceptions of Mexico.”

Ramírez López presented a late night music and talk show for La Magia 97.1. Police found belongings such as his mobile telephone with his body, suggesting that robbery was not the motive behind his killing.