Murder in Mexico: journalists caught in the crosshairs
Regina Martínez Pérez was considered an enemy of the state. The 48-year-old journalist had made powerful foes investigating allegations of collusion between political leaders, security forces and narcotraffickers in the Mexican region of Veracruz.
She was a source of irritation for four consecutive state governors, highlighting violence, abuses of power and cover-ups in the pages of Mexico’s foremost investigative news magazine, Proceso.
Her stories highlighted horrific episodes such as the case of an elderly indigenous woman who was beaten, raped and left for dead by soldiers, and the torture and massacre of passengers on a local bus.
Known to her friends as La Chaparrita or “Shorty”, Martínez was a 4ft 11in chain-smoker who found solace tending her garden. She was also a fearless investigator of gangland executions, police assassins, forced disappearances and corruption schemes.
“Her work was her life,” said close friend and colleague Norma Trujillo. “She was really interested in social issues, human rights violations. She was close to the people. That was her superpower.”
Martínez was murdered on 28 April 2012 in her modest bungalow in the state capital, Xalapa. She fought back, but was overpowered by an assailant who beat her badly and broke her jaw before asphyxiating her with a dish towel.
Martínez was not the first reporter to be assassinated in Mexico, but the killing of a high-profile correspondent for a national magazine marked the start of a wave of targeted violence which has made it the most dangerous country in the world for journalists, outside a war zone.
Those most frequently targeted are reporters like Martínez, who dare to investigate narco-politics – the web of influence and interest woven by corrupt officials and organised crime.
Last month alone, , bringing the death toll to at least 119 since 2000, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Of those
