In memoriam...
Alejandro Alfredo Martínez Noguez
1967 - 2024
Following a failed attack in 2022, the journalist was accompanied by SSC escorts on his assignments in the municipality. Two of the officers guarding him were injured and it remains unclear if Martínez Noguez was the target of the armed attack or if the gunmen intended to attack law enforcement, with his murder becoming collateral damage.
After reporting on the traffic accident, the journalist was returning home in the back of the police vehicle when a white van intercepted them and opened fire, according to local press. The bullets hit his body and head. He was rushed in critical condition to Celaya Regional General Hospital, where he died minutes later in the emergency room.
This was not the first attempt on his life. Martínez Noguez survived an attack in November 2022 at the door of his home in Vista Hermosa, a working-class neighborhood in Celaya frequently featured in crime reports. On that occasion, a gunman shot at him, but the weapon jammed, and he escaped unharmed. Martínez Noguez had become a protagonist in the kind of stories he had spent his career covering. Known for his work in radio and print media, the journalist gained a large following in the region (with over 343,000 followers on Facebook and 117,000 on YouTube) as a chronicler of crime, incidents, and drug trafficking. After that day, he shifted focus from shootouts to covering traffic accidents and citizen complaints, according to the digital outlet LatinUs.
The assailants have not been identified and remain at large. The SSC has deployed a search operation "in coordination with state and federal authorities," led by the state prosecutor’s office.
Mexico is the most dangerous country in the world for journalism outside of war zones, according to Reporters Without Borders: at least 37 journalists have been murdered since 2019, though the true number is likely higher (disappearances are not officially counted as homicides, and proving a journalist was killed because of their work is often challenging).
Translated article from: https://elpais.com/mexico/2024-08-05/asesinado-a-tiros-el-periodista-alejandro-martinez-noguez-en-celaya-cuando-viajaba-con-escolta-policial.html