COATZACOALCOS, Mexico, May 10, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Two journalists were
murdered Monday in Mexico's violent eastern state of Veracruz, according to
authorities, who said they were investigating whether the crime was related
to the women's work.

   Yessenia Mollinedo, director of the news portal El Veraz, and Sheila
Garcia, a reporter for the site, were shot in the municipality of
Cosoleacaque, the state prosecutor's office said.

   "All lines of investigation will be exhausted, including their
journalistic activity," Veracruz Attorney General Veronica Hernandez said in
a statement.

   Media rights groups Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Article 19 said
they were gathering information about the double murder.

   Mexico is on course for one of its deadliest years yet for the press,
prompting calls from rights groups for authorities to end a culture of
impunity.

   Even before Monday's murders, nine journalists had been killed in Mexico
since the start of the year, according to RSF and Article 19.

   Last week Luis Enrique Ramirez, a columnist for the newspaper El Debate,
was murdered in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, the stronghold of
notorious narco kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's cartel.

   In such cases authorities try to determine if the crime was linked to the
victims' work -- a task that can be difficult in areas with a strong
organized crime presence, like Veracruz.

   The Veracruz Commission for the Care and Protection of Journalists urged
authorities to make the journalism of Mollinedo and Garcia "the main line of
investigation of the cowardly crime."

   More than 150 journalists have been murdered since 2000 in Mexico, one of
the world's most dangerous countries for the media, with only a fraction of
the crimes resulting in convictions.

   The victims are often reporters working for local media in states plagued
by drug cartel-related violence, many of whom combine journalism with other
jobs because of the low pay.

   The United States and the European Parliament have urged Mexico to ensure
adequate protection for journalists following the recent string of killings.