Reporters demand justice in murder case

Mexicali reporters held a protest Friday at noon to demand state officials to clarify the murder of a Rosarito Beach colleague who was slain July 31.

During the protest, journalists read a statement in which they asked the Attorney General’s office to bring justice in the Luciano Rivera case who was shot to death in a bar.

In the statement, reporters recalled that Assistant Attorney General in Rosarito Beach Patricia Ortega said no evidence was found that linked Rivera’s murder with his journalistic activities.

The official reportedly said the journalist was killed after defending a woman at the bar.

However, Tijuana reporter Alberto Elenes interviewed several witnesses and his investigations lead towards the possibility that the assassination was planned.

Rivera’s magazine Dictamen BC ran a story on May about the war between drug smugglers in the area. The June/July issue disclosed problems within the Yellow Line taxi cab companies in Tijuana.

Evidence showed Elenes’ findings during the first indictment hearing against the homicide suspect, reporters said in the statement.

Attorney General’s office spokesman José Manuel Yépiz allegedly called Elenes “irresponsible” for questioning the preliminary version reported by the agency and also accused the journalist of attempting to discredit the authority’s version.

Reporters demanded justice in Rivera’s case and protection for his and Elenes’ families and co-workers.

The statement has been endorsed by hundreds of Mexican journalists from 15 states, including Agence France-Presse correspondent Jennifer González and Venezuelan reporter Adriana Estela Flores.

— Arturo Bojorquez, abojorquez@ivpressonline.

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