Under police protection, a Mexican journalist covering violent crime was slain.
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Alejandro Martínez was shot by unidentified assailants when he was driving in the central state of Guanajuato with two security guards.
Known as “The Son of the Lone Ranger,” Mr. Martínez passed away in a hospital due to gunshot wounds he received during the attack.
Reporters Without Borders, a campaign organization, claims that Mexico is among the most hazardous countries in the world for journalists, with over 150 media professionals slain there since 1994.
In his 50s, Mr. Martínez oversaw a well-known news organization with over 340,000 followers on Facebook.
He had been protected by the police since 2022, when he had escaped a similar threat on his life.
The journalist and his bodyguards were inside the car when the perpetrators, according to the local authorities, started fire from a pickup truck.
The reporter was struck by a gunshot in the head, and despite the bodyguards returning fire, police sources informed the AFP news agency that they were unable to save him.
According to accounts, a stray bullet also struck and injured a woman in a different vehicle.
In an interview three years ago, Mr Martínez said he felt incredible pain and sadness witnessing the damage done to the region by increasing levels of violence.
Balbina Flores from Reporters Without Borders in Mexico told AFP that “he was a journalist who was at risk”.
He had been assigned bodyguards under a federal programme for reporters who receive death threats, a government official said.