Another journalist killed in Mexico, the fifth this year

A journalist was shot dead Thursday in Mexico, the fifth such killing this year in a country notoriously dangerous for reporters.

Heber Lopez Vazquez, who ran a news website called Noticias Web in the southern state of Oaxaca, was shot while he was in his car, state prosecutor Arturo Calvo told the TV channel Milenio.

Two suspects were arrested as they tried to flee the scene of the crime and their guns were recovered, Calvo said.

It is not known who ordered the killing, he said.

This makes five killings of journalists so far this year in Mexico, according to an AFP tally based on data from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a press freedom advocacy organization.

Mexico is considered one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.

At least seven were killed last year, according to RSF, although it is not known for certain that in all of those cases the killing was linked to their work.

© 2022 AFP