Roxana Guzmán Ramírez, director of the news portal Pulso Informativo Del Sureste, was abducted yesterday around 6:00 a.m. by three armed men who stormed into her home in the municipality of Nanchital, security sources reported.
A video circulated on social media shows several hooded figures smashing the front door with a sledgehammer—shattering glass and breaking locks—before immediately entering the residence.
Reporters from the southern part of the state expressed their deep concern regarding the journalist’s whereabouts; through various media outlets, they publicized her abduction and urged authorities to locate her. The Veracruz State Attorney General’s Office confirmed it is aware of the case and has opened an official investigation file.
For its part, the State Commission for the Protection of Journalists of Veracruz (CEAPP) condemned the incident and stated that it is in communication with authorities to monitor the case.
The Commission noted that a CEAPP commissioner has already been deployed to the southern region of the state to provide support to the journalist’s family.
Veracruz is widely cited as one of the most dangerous states in Mexico for the practice of journalism, due to dozens of cases involving homicides, disappearances, and threats directed at reporters and media professionals in recent years.
According to organizations dedicated to the defense of freedom of expression, state records indicate that 30 journalists have been murdered in Veracruz since the year 2000. The six-year term of former Governor Javier Duarte—a member of the PRI party—was among the most violent periods for the press.
Source: jornada
