The Inter-American Press Association condemned the acts of violence that took place last weekend in different states of the Mexican Republic, which claimed the lives of several innocent people, including workers at a radio station in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
Through a statement, the president of the IAPA, Jorge Canahuati, and the president of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Carlos Jornet, called on the federal government to specify specific measures to contain the waves of violence in the country.
“It is time for the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to urgently establish concrete measures to curb violence, impunity for these crimes and guarantee the protection of journalists during the exercise of their trade,” they reiterated.
Announcer deaths
The organization recalled that on August 11, Allan González, host of the radio program Switch 105.9 FM; Lino Flores, from the Promotions area; Armando Guerrero, operations manager, and Alex Arriaga, bodyguard, were killed.
“We urge the authorities to investigate the crime promptly and thoroughly, to find those responsible and bring them to justice,” said Jornet, journalistic director of the Argentine newspaper La Voz del Interior. Who, in turn, also lamented that our country “has become an example not to follow, in terms of attention to murders against journalists.”
The team of this radio station broadcast live from the parking lot of a pizzeria in Ciudad Juárez. When alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel perpetrated violent attacks against civilians and businesses in the city.
“We join the general condemnation and consternation of these new crimes, which highlight the state of terror in which citizens live and that particularly affects the Mexican press,” said Canahuati, executive president of Grupo Opsa, in solidarity with the family and colleagues from the radio.
According to the organization, Mexico is going through one of the most violent and bloody years against the press. He explained that in addition to the four people who worked at the radio station, another 13 journalists were killed in the country in 2022.
