Less than three weeks after two journalists – a man and his wife – were gunned down in an Internet café in Mexico, a further two reporters have been killed, edging Mexico past Honduras as the world’s most dangerous country for journalists so far in 2010.

Marco Aurelio Martinez Tijerina of Montemorelos in Nuevo Leon state and Guillermo Trejo Alcaraz of Chihuahua city were killed on 10 July in separate incidents.

Killings have skyrocketed in Mexico over the last two years as the authorities face off against ruthless drug cartels in a violent conflict.

Martinez Tijerina, 45, of La Tremenda radio station in the town of Montemorelos was found with a bullet through his head on Saturday, twenty-four hours after he had been abducted, according to news reports. His body showed signs of torture.

Martinez was the head of the news programme “Informativo 800” at XEDD Radio La Tremenda, and had previously worked for other news shows at XERN 950AM, TV Azteca, Grupo Multimedia and W Radio, according to the EFE news agency.

Guillermo Trejo Alcaraz, 24, was killed by masked gunmen in his own car as he was leaving the premises of Omnia newspaper. Alcaraz was a cameraman for local media, and was responsible for video material on the website of the Chihuahua State Commission on Human Rights (ECHR), reports said.

So far this year, at least 10 journalists have been murdered in Mexico, according to IPI’s Death Watch, just one short of the 11 killed throughout 2009.

IPI Director David Dadge said: “We are outraged to hear of the deaths of another two Mexican journalists. Mexico now has the dubious distinction of being the world’s most dangerous country for journalists in 2010. Its rise to this unenviable position is being fuelled by a culture of complete impunity.”