Mexico offers rewards to solve murder of journalists

By Nancy Caouette

MEXICO CITY (AA) – Mexico announced Tuesday it would offer rewards of up to 1.5 million pesos ($US 83,000) for information leading to the arrests of those responsible for the murders and attempted murder of journalists.

The attorney general’s office said the rewards would be given to those who provide information on the murderers of four journalists killed this year, one killed last year and an editor who was severely injured last month in a gun attack.

“Rewards will be provided in a proportion to the veracity, usefulness, effectiveness and timeliness of the information that leads to the capture of those responsible,” the department said in a statement published in the official gazette.

Six journalists have been killed in Mexico in 2017, but the attorney general's office did not explain how it selected the cases for rewards.

Among the cases chosen for rewards is the murder of Javier Valdez, a veteran journalist who specialized in covering stories related to drug trafficking and violence. He was shot dead in daylight May 15 in the violent state of Sinaloa.

Reporters have held a number of protests in recent weeks to demand justice for Valdez and all journalists murdered in Mexico.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, a watchdog group, said at least 40 journalists have been murdered in Mexico in the past 25 years for reasons related to their jobs, while 50 others have been killed under unclear circumstances.

The announcement of the rewards is the first time the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto has made such an offer to resolve cases involving the killings of journalists.