While the United Nations is condemning the murder of another Mexican journalist who was killed while watching his son’s Christmas pageant, government officials doubted the victim’s current profession and accused him of having ties to a criminal organization.
This week, a team of gunmen entered a school in Acayucan, Veracruz, where they shot and killed Gumaro Perez Aguilando while he was watching his son take part in a Christmas pageant, Breitbart Texas reported.
Soon after the murder, the Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations Humans Rights issued a news release condemning the murder. According to the statement, Perez Aguilando was the target of threats and assaults in 2012 and 2014 directly related to his journalistic endeavors, Mexico’s Revista Proceso reported.
Perez Aguilando’s murder was also condemned by the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Rebeca Jacobson said she was offended by the “cowardly murder”.
Me ofende la muerte de Gumaro Pérez Aguilando de La Voz del Sur en #Veracruz. Cobardes asesinos que lo mataron frente a su hijo en una escuela primaria. Indignada por la pérdida de un valiente periodista más en Mexico. #Justicia para su familia. #LibertadDePrensa#NiUnoMás
— Roberta Jacobson (@EmbRoberta) December 20, 2017
Despite the condemnations from international bodies, the Veracruz Attorney General’s Office (FGE) issued new information on the case claiming that Perez Aguilando had stopped working as a journalist years before and his murder was not tied to investigative work. Soon after, the FGE issued a new press release claiming the murder was directly linked to Perez Aguilando’s activities with a criminal organization and died by rivals’ hands. The Veracruz government claimed that the victim visited a cartel leader in prison several times and had other evidence in the case.
Of the more than a dozen journalists murdered in Mexico, three of them were killed in Veracruz. According to the UN, the attacks occurred despite an official protection program for journalists in place since 2015.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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