SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — More than one hundred journalist have been killed in Mexico since 2020. Two of those journalist were killed just in the last month.
On Friday night, more journalist held a candlelight vigil outside the Mexican consulate to honor the lives lost.
Photojournalist Margarito Martínez was shot and killed on Monday, Jan. 17 at his home in eastern Tijuana as he left for work.
Then, on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 23, journalist Lourdes Maldonado was shot in the face as she arrived home in the southern part of the city.
And Jose Luis Gamboa Arenas died on Jan. 21, 2022 in Tijuana.
"My uncle was a really passionate man, a great father...He was known as the cool, funny guy," said Margarito's niece. "He showed every reporter that would show up in Tijuana around and for me it’s heartbreaking because that’s my uncle,"
There is no evidence the two murders are related. Bullet casings link one of the killings to a cartel gun.
Mexico is considered the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. Last year, at least seven journalists were killed in Mexico, according to the nonprofit Reporters Without Borders.
No suspects in the two recent Tijuana killings are in custody. The Baja Attorney General's office has assigned a special unit to investigate the deaths.