Reporter shot dead, executive attacked

MEXICO: A Mexican reporter renowned for coverage of organised crime was killed in the lawless state of Sinaloa and gunmen attacked an executive of a small weekly magazine yesterday, as authorities struggle to contain renewed bloodshed between drug cartels.

Javier Valdez was killed when assailants opened fire on his car in the state capital, Culiacan, according to Riodoce, the media outlet he co-founded and where he worked.

He was the fifth reporter killed since March, making Mexico one of the deadliest countries for journalism at a time when murder rates are at their highest since the peak of the drug war in 2011.

In Autlan, in the neighbouring state of Jalisco that is the territory of the ascendant Jalisco New Generation Cartel, gunmen opened fire on Sonia Cordova, an executive at the Semanario Costeno weekly magazine.

Cordova was wounded and taken to hospital and her adult son was killed in the attack, the state prosecutor’s office said.

A state police source said her son, Jonathan Rodrı´guez Co´ rdova, worked as a reporter at the familyrun magazine, which publishes local news that includes some crime reporting.

Autlan is best known as the birthplace of rock musician Carlos Santana.

Valdez was one of Mexico’s most well-known, and loved, chroniclers of the drug war, winning the International Press Freedom Award from watchdog group the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in 2011 for his prolific coverage of trafficking and organized crime.

News of his slaying shook Mexico’s journalism community, already alarmed by a spike in attacks against the media this year. - Reuters