Current:Home > Finance3 journalists and 2 relatives have been abducted in a violent city in southern Mexico -GrowthSphere Strategies
3 journalists and 2 relatives have been abducted in a violent city in southern Mexico
View
Date:2025-04-18 11:23:36
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! (76878)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Putin says Russia will deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, Ukraine's neighbor to the north, in early July
- Eva Mendes Looks Back on Movie Where She Met Ryan Gosling Lifetimes Ago
- Jecca Blac’s Vegan, Gender-free Makeup Line Is Real, and It’s Spectacular
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Kim Kardashian Shares Glimpse Inside Stylish Tokyo Trip With Her Kids
- TikToker Chris Olsen Reveals Relationship Status After Kissing Meghan Trainor’s Brother Ryan
- Gino Mäder, Swiss cyclist, dies at age 26 after Tour de Suisse crash
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- At least 41 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school near Congo border
Ranking
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- The Record Temperatures Enveloping The West Are Not Your Average Heat Wave
- Parts Of The Amazon Rainforest Are Now Releasing More Carbon Than They Absorb
- Australian Scott White gets 9 years in prison for punching gay American Scott Johnson off Sydney cliff in 1988
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- King Charles III celebrates first Trooping the Colour as monarch
- Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's Sweet Escape to the 2023 CMT Music Awards Is the Perfect Date
- About 100 people killed after boat returning from wedding capsizes in Nigeria
Recommendation
North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
Kim Kardashian Apologizes for Saying Kourtney and Khloe Looked Like Clowns During 2018 Tokyo Trip
United Nations adopts high seas treaty, the first-ever pact to govern and protect international waters
The Mona Lisa bridge mystery: Has the world's most famous painting finally given up a secret?
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
Elite's Arón Piper Turns Up the Heat in Shirtless Selfie
2 Japanese soldiers killed when fellow soldier opens fire, officials say
American woman injured in fatal attack on fellow American tourist near German castle released from hospital