Mexican journalist Roberto Carlos Figueroa abducted, killed in Morelos

Figueroa was abducted by gunmen on the morning of April 26 after dropping his daughters off at school in Cuernavaca, about 50 miles south of Mexico City, according to news reports.

Figueroa’s unidentified captors contacted his wife on at least three occasions and demanded a ransom in exchange for his release. His wife handed over an undisclosed sum later that day, but the journalist was found dead that evening inside his vehicle in Coajomulco, north of Morelos’ state capital of Cuernavaca, some 25 miles south of Mexico City.

“With the shocking killing of Roberto Carlos Figueroa, whose abduction occurred in broad daylight, Mexico continues a disturbing pattern of deadly violence against journalists, with a vast majority of cases committed with impunity,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative. “Mexican authorities must immediately take all appropriate steps to bring Figueroa’s captors to justice, and investigate the motive behind his killing.”

Figueroa, 40, was a trained biologist and former government official who moved into journalism and online content creation after the state and general elections of 2018, Morelos-based journalist José Montes told CPJ by phone on Thursday. Montes and Figueroa became friends after the former was the latter’s supervisor when they worked in the Morelos state government.

Figueroa was based out of Cuernavaca and was the founder and editor of Acá en el Show, a satirical and critical news outlet that publishes on Facebook.. Figueroa posted news articles and commentary on local politics, as well as satirical and humorous videos critical of local politicians, including Morelos Governor Cuauhtémoc Blanco.

“He [Figueroa] was very sharp in his criticism of politicians,” Montes told CPJ.

On the day of his abduction and killing, Figueroa posted a short video on Acá en el Show, announcing that he had information on corruption involving candidates for the upcoming June 2 state and federal elections.  The post appeared to be an announcement that he would release the information soon, though a date was not given.

Montes told CPJ that he was not aware of any threats against Figueroa’s life, and the journalist did not seem unusually worried or stressed in the days before his death. However, Montes noted that there were two break-ins in Figueroa’s office in November and December of last year, but nothing was stolen.

On April 26, an official with the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists—which operates out of Mexico City under the auspices of the federal government and provides state-sanctioned protection to journalists and rights defenders at risk—told CPJ via messaging app that the office had no prior knowledge of any threats against Figueroa’s life. The official asked CPJ to remain anonymous, as they were not authorized to comment on the matter.

In a press conference held on April 29, Morelos state prosecutor Uriel Carmona Gándara told journalists that Figuero’s death is possibly linked to his work as a reporter. He did not provide further details. Several phone calls by CPJ to the prosecutor’s office to request further comment were not answered.

Mexico is the one of the most dangerous  countries for journalists in the Western Hemisphere, according to CPJ research.