A hundred people, holding up the front pages of the local newspapers that reported on the crime, gathered outside the cathedral in Culiacán, the state capital, to demand an accurate, fast and clear investigation.
After the initial inquiries, state prosecutor Sara Quiñones reported this Friday in a statement that Ramírez was on the street early Wednesday morning and was forced into a vehicle, remained kidnapped for several hours and was later murdered.
Some blows to the head were the cause of death, although he also had a gunshot wound to the left leg, the prosecutor added.
The journalistic work of Ramírez, who years ago said he feared for his life, is one of the lines of investigation.
The case could be brought before the federal prosecutor specialized in crimes against freedom of expression, but in Sinaloa a special group will be created to investigate it, according to Quiñones.
Sinaloa had already been shaken on May 15, 2017 by the murder of Javier Valdez, internationally recognized journalist, founder of the weekly Riodoce and correspondent for La Jornada and AFP. The crime sparked protests inside and outside of Mexico.
The newspaper El Debate published this Friday in white the space of Ramírez’s column while expressing his outrage at the murder.
“We do not want the usual phrases from the authorities. The usual excuses. It is not the first time that our journalists and facilities have been aggrieved (…) This country cannot continue like this with this government indolence, with this exasperating lack of commitment to combat insecurity”, he denounced.
So far in 2022, nine communicators have been murdered, although it remains to be determined whether in all cases the crime is linked to their work.
-Threats and harassment-
Organizations that defend freedom of expression such as Article 19 and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) consider Mexico one of the most dangerous countries to practice journalism.
The Office in Mexico of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also condemned Ramírez’s murder.
“In recent months, a succession of murders and other attacks have been committed against journalists, which not only violate their right to life and integrity, but also create an environment of insecurity for journalism and restrict the right to information,” Guillermo Fernández-Maldonado, UN-DH representative in Mexico, said in a statement.
Óscar Loza Ochoa, activist and former president of the State Human Rights Commission, explained during the protest that in 2021 a detailed report of attacks on journalists in Sinaloa was prepared.
That document revealed threats, harassment and censorship from politicians and criminals, with journalists who cover crimes being the most vulnerable.
Ramírez’s murder revives the debate on a legislative initiative to strengthen the federal mechanism for the protection of journalists, which has always suffered from scant resources, understaffing and bureaucracy, according to RSF.
“There are proposals from colleagues to protect themselves with mechanisms that detect threats before possible attacks, see who is in danger and act quickly,” said Loza Ochoa.
Ramírez was a correspondent for the national newspapers El Financiero and La Jornada.
The journalist, who wrote about politics, recounted in his last article, entitled Momentum, that a stranger insulted him in a restaurant where he was eating with a local authority.
In 2022, journalists Armando Linares, Juan Carlos Muñiz, Heber López, Lourdes Maldonado, Margarito Martínez, Roberto Toledo, José Luis Gamboa and Jorge Luis Camero have been murdered in Mexico.
