Aurelio Cabrera Campos was the eighth journalist killed in Mexico this year, according to a report released by CPJ research.
Unknown assailants shot multiple rounds at the journalist's car about 11 p.m. on September 14 while driving near Huauchinango, a city in Puebla. Although emergency services arrived at the scene after receiving an anonymous call, Cabrera died hours later at the hospital. The Committee to Protect Journalists urged authorities in the central Mexican state of Puebla to conduct a full credible investigation.
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Founder of the news magazine El Grafico La Sierra, located in Xicotepec, Puebla, Mexico, reported on crime, accidents and local politics in the city. His latest reports were on several murders in the region located near the city of Poza Rica, in the neighboring state of Veracruz. Two of Cabrera's colleagues have report that he has been beaten and threatened by family members of a man accused of kidnapping in Mexico. investigation.
According to a statement by the state prosecutor's office, the investigation is ongoing and the special federal prosecutor for crimes against freedom of expression are reviewing the case.
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Local media outlets have stated that with the ongoing investigation, the police are questioning Pedro Garrido, the editorial director of La Voz de la Sierra, another weekly, which Cabrera worked for a year before he founded his own newspaper. Since the start of El Grafico La Sierra, both directors have been disputing.
Garrido posted an article on Facebook denying any involvement in Cabrera's death, and said he had no rivalry or conflict with Cabrera. He offered his condolences to the journalist's family, and called on authorities to thoroughly investigate the murder.