Mexico: Journalist murdered and becomes the fourth victim so far this year

A journalist was stabbed to death on Tuesday in Ciudad Acuña, in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, and across the border from Del Rio, Texas.

Saúl Tijerina Rentería is the fourth journalist assassinated in Mexico so far this year. Tijerina Rentería was a reporter for various digital media, including La Voz de Coahuila.

La Voz de Coahuila reported that the journalist disappeared after leaving his job in a maquiladora in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Later, his body was located inside the trunk of a car.

The salaries of journalists in the interior of the country are so low that many have several jobs.

Article 19, a press freedom group, asked the Mexican authorities to investigate whether his murder is related to his journalistic work.

State police said that two suspects were found with a knife and were detained in connection with the murder, according to reports from La Voz.

Murdered journalists

Last week, reporter Gustavo Sánchez Cabrera died after being shot in the southern state of Oaxaca, and another journalist was killed west of Mexico City.

In May, online journalist Bengamín Morales Hernández was kidnapped and murdered in the northern state of Sonora.

Two other journalists have disappeared in Sonora this year. Press freedom groups say nine journalists were killed in Mexico in 2020, making it the most dangerous country for reporters outside of war zones.