Mexican Journalist Gunned Down in Beach Hotspot, Second in One Week

Members of the tactical intervention team check the area where Mexican journalist Nelson Mateus was murdered in the resort town of Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, July 15, 2023. A Mexican journalist was shot to death in a store parking lot on Saturday July 15, 2023 in the southern tourist town …
FRANCISCO ROBLES/AFP via Getty Images
Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby

A group of gunmen shot and killed a Mexican journalist in the tourist hotspot of Acapulco, Guerrero. This is the second killing of its kind in Mexico in a span of a week. Additionally, two other journalists were kidnapped but have since been released.

The most recent murder occurred on Saturday afternoon when a team of gunmen shot and killed journalist Nelson Matus Pena. The murder took place as he was getting out of his vehicle in the shopping center parking lot. The Guerrero Attorney General’s Office confirmed through a very short prepared statement that they responded to the murder and are investigating the case. The state AG did not describe Matus Pena as a journalist nor did he provide any other details.

Matus Pena founded and directed the online news outlet Lo Real de Guerrero with a focus on crime reporting. According to Mexico’s Proceso, Matus Pena worked as a photographer for Revista Alarma, the newspaper El Alarmante and the online news outlet Agora Guerrero before starting his own outlet.

In their story, Proceso described Matus Pena as a very well-sourced journalist who covered violent crimes, which have become prevalent in Guerrero as multiple drug cartels fight for control of the region.

The murder in Acapulco comes just seven days after a group of gunmen in the Mexican state of Nayarit kidnapped and killed Luis Martin Sanchez Iniguez. He worked as a journalist with Mexico’s La Jornada Newspaper. As Breitbart Texas reported, during the week of Sanchez’s killing, unknown gunmen in Nayarit kidnapped two other reporters who have since been released. The violence against journalists in Mexico comes as various press freedom organizations label Mexico as one of the deadliest places for news workers.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

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