Current:Home > Markets3 journalists and 2 relatives have been abducted in a violent city in southern Mexico-LoTradeCoin
3 journalists and 2 relatives have been abducted in a violent city in southern Mexico
View Date:2024-12-24 00:49:11
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors said Thursday that three journalists and two of their relatives have been abducted by armed men in a violence-plagued state in Mexico, which press groups say is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, outside of war zones.
The prosecutors office in southern Guerrero state said all five people were abducted between Sunday and Wednesday in Taxco, a colonial town frequented by tourists. One journalist was abducted Sunday along with his wife and adult son, and a husband-and-wife team of journalists were kidnapped Wednesday.
The online news site The Afternoon Chronicle in the nearby city of Chilpancingo said its reporter in Taxco, Marco Antonio Toledo, had received threats earlier this year from a drug cartel, which had ordered him not to publish a story. Toledo had also recently reported on a case of local corruption.
The news site called on authorities to find Toledo, and said the area “has been silenced by the drug cartels.”
“Previously, other journalists have been kidnapped by drug cartels ... and have exiled themselves to other parts of the state and other states to save themselves,” the new site reported.
The press freedom group Article 19 said Toledo, his wife and son had been pulled from their home by at least five armed individuals on Sunday. They have not been heard from since.
The group said the kidnapped journalist couple have been identified as Silvia Nayssa Arce and Alberto Sánchez. They worked for another online news site, RedSiete. That outlet has not yet reported on the abductions.
Taxco has long been known for its silver artisanry, colonial architecture and colorful Easter week celebrations. But in recent years, the city has become a battle ground between drug gangs fighting over the lucrative trade in extorting protection money from local businesses.
The violent La Familia Michoacana cartel and the Tlacos gang are reportedly active in turf battles in Taxco, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) south of Mexico City.
It marked one of the largest mass attacks on reporters in one place in Mexico since one day in early 2012, when the bodies of three news photographers were found dumped in plastic bags in a canal in the Gulf coast city of Veracruz. Earlier, in one week in June 2011, three journalists were killed or disappeared in the same city. The killings were blamed on the once-powerful Zetas drug cartel.
Last week, a photographer for a newspaper in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez was found shot to death in his car. His death was the fifth instance of a journalist being killed in Mexico so far in 2023.
In the past five years alone, the Committee to Protect Journalists documented the killings of at least 54 journalists in Mexico.
veryGood! (9346)
Related
- Isiah Pacheco injury updates: When will Chiefs RB return?
- Charcuterie meat sold at Sam's Club recalled due to possible salmonella contamination
- A Pentagon mystery: Why was Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospital stay kept secret for days?
- Polish farmers suspend their blockade at the Ukrainian border after a deal with the government
- Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday light display in Manhattan changing up this season
- Prominent Black church in New York sued for gender bias by woman who sought to be its senior pastor
- Sam Kerr suffers torn ACL, jeopardizing Olympic hopes with Australia
- 11-year-old killed in Iowa school shooting remembered as a joyful boy who loved soccer and singing
- NFL MVP rankings: Does Steelers QB Russell Wilson deserve any consideration?
- Why Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Ex Nicholas Godejohn Filed a New Appeal in Murder Conviction Case
Ranking
- She was found dead while hitchhiking in 1974. An arrest has finally been made.
- Why Jim Harbaugh should spurn the NFL, stay at Michigan and fight to get players paid
- South Korea says North Korea has fired artillery near their sea boundary for a third straight day.
- Over 100 evacuate Russia’s Belgorod while soldiers celebrate Orthodox Christmas on the front line
- Ben Affleck and His Son Samuel, 12, Enjoy a Rare Night Out Together
- 5 people have died in a West Virginia house fire, including four young children
- Nigel Lythgoe departs 'So You Think You Can Dance' amid sexual assault allegations
- Jordanian army says it killed 5 drug smugglers in clashes on the Syrian border
Recommendation
-
Tony Todd, star of 'Candyman,' 'Final Destination,' dies at 69
-
Massive vehicle pileup on southern California highway leaves 2 dead, 9 injured, authorities say
-
Shop These Jaw-Dropping Home Deals for Finds up to 60% Off That Will Instantly Upgrade Your Space
-
A fire in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh guts more than 1,000 shelters
-
Stock market today: Asian stocks dip as Wall Street momentum slows with cooling Trump trade
-
Attorney calls for suspension of Olympic skater being investigated for alleged sexual assault
-
Mexico residents face deaths threats from cartel if they don't pay to use makeshift Wi-Fi narco-antennas
-
Supreme Court agrees to hear Colorado case over Trump's 2024 ballot eligibility