The body of Julio Valdivia, 44, who specialised in the “nota roja” journalism that focuses on gruesome crime and violence, was found in the remote Tezonapa municipality, about 100km from the state capital, Veracruz.
A staff member at Valdivia’s Diario El Mundo newspaper in Veracruz said initially it was suspected Valdivia might have been run over by a train, but that was ruled out by the prosecutor’s office.
“Valdivia was found near the train tracks, beheaded and tortured,” the newspaper staff member, who did not wish to be identified, said.
El Universal and several other local news outlets reported that Valdivia was beheaded, the fourth journalist death in Mexico in 2020.
In 2019, about half of all murders of journalists around the world occurred in Mexico, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“We condemn the homicide of Julio Valdivia,” the Veracruz government said on its Twitter account.
A local media protection group known as the CEAPP said Valdivia did not have extra protection measures as he had not reported facing threats to his security. But the group demanded the authorities shed light on the murder.
Mexican journalist who wrote about crime found beheaded
Image: REUTERS/ DIARIO EL MUNDO
A Mexican journalist who wrote about crime in the violent Gulf Coast state of Veracruz was found beheaded on Wednesday, the latest grisly murder of a reporter in one of the world’s most dangerous nations for journalists.
The body of Julio Valdivia, 44, who specialised in the “nota roja” journalism that focuses on gruesome crime and violence, was found in the remote Tezonapa municipality, about 100km from the state capital, Veracruz.
A staff member at Valdivia’s Diario El Mundo newspaper in Veracruz said initially it was suspected Valdivia might have been run over by a train, but that was ruled out by the prosecutor’s office.
“Valdivia was found near the train tracks, beheaded and tortured,” the newspaper staff member, who did not wish to be identified, said.
El Universal and several other local news outlets reported that Valdivia was beheaded, the fourth journalist death in Mexico in 2020.
In 2019, about half of all murders of journalists around the world occurred in Mexico, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“We condemn the homicide of Julio Valdivia,” the Veracruz government said on its Twitter account.
A local media protection group known as the CEAPP said Valdivia did not have extra protection measures as he had not reported facing threats to his security. But the group demanded the authorities shed light on the murder.
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