The killing of yet another journalist calls attention to Mexico’s alarming state of press freedom, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today.

Reporter and radio presenter Armando Saldaña Morales, 53 was found dead near the bank of a stream in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on May 4. According to local newspapers, he was intercepted on his way home near Tezonapa, Veracruz.

In light of the numerous disappearances and killings of media staff, Veracruz is considered the most dangerous Mexican state for journalists.

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.

“We are saddened by the senseless murder of yet another journalist in Mexico and our thoughts go out to his family, friends and colleagues,” IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications Steven M. Ellis said. ”We urge authorities to make use of all tools available to bring the perpetrators to justice and to end the cycle of impunity that has taken the lives of far too many of our colleagues there in recent years.”

Police have not yet revealed any potential suspects or motives. However, reports indicated that there might be a relation to Saldaña Morales’ recent publications 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.

IPI spoke to Daniela Pastrana, a journalist from Veracruz, who complained of “inefficiency” and “insufficient action” by Mexican authorities.

“Thirty hours after, no governmental institution is investigating the motives for [Saldaña Morales’] assassination”, Pastrana, who specializes in human rights and social policy, told IPI on Thursday. “There is in fact a federal commission for the protection of journalists as well as a public prosecutor for aggressions against journalists and neither has taken action.”

Pastrana is a member of Mexican journalists’ network Periodistas de a Pie (Journalists on Foot), which received IPI’s 2015 Free Media Pioneer Award for its groundbreaking efforts in working to protect and improve journalists’ safety.

Saldaña Morales’ murder is the second such case in Mexico since the beginning of the year, once again highlighting the extreme vulnerability of Mexican journalists. According to IPI’s Death Watch, at least 35 other journalists and media staff have died in Mexico since 2010 in relation to their work, making it one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.