Fifth journalist murdered in Mexico in 2022

Marcos Ernesto Islas Flores was shot and killed outside his home in a Tijuana neighborhood in the early hours of Sunday, February 6.

(TIJUANA BC – Agencies) – Marcos Ernesto Islas Flores, journalist, and son of journalist Marco Antonio Islas Parra, was murdered early Sunday morning, February 6, outside his home in Tijuana, the third such crime in the first days of 2022.

Marco Islas reported what happened through his social networks. He said: “A few minutes ago, my son Marcos Ernesto was shot four times outside my house” he also reported that the attackers had left a narco-manta at the scene.

The content of the narco manta was not revealed, but it was reported that it had to do with the arrival of a “new administration” of organized crime in the area; so far, there is no information linking the crime to a specific criminal group.

Both father and son worked for the news portal Notiredes. Marco Antonio was the general director of the media outlet, while Marcos Ernesto was dedicated to operating the social networks and managing the website. The murdered young man was also the nephew of journalist Víctor Islas, known as “El Buffalo.”

In Tijuana, Marcos Ernesto reportedly lost his life after an armed attack outside his Colonia Delegación Sánchez Taboada home. Sicarios shot the 31-year-old man.

According to witnesses, the attackers were two men dressed in black, who went to the house at around 11:30 p.m. (local time) to carry out the armed attack, in which they fired four shots at the young man, causing his immediate death at the scene.

This is the fifth murder and sixth armed attack against journalists this year. 

• Roberto Toledo, a contributor to the website Monitor Michoacán, was murdered in Zitácuaro, Michoacán, on January 31. 
• José Luis Gamboa, director of the digital newspaper Inforegio, was stabbed to death on January 10.
• Margarito Martínez Esquivel, the contributor to the weekly magazine Z, was shot to death in Tijuana on January 17.
• Lourdes Maldonado was murdered in Tijuana on Sunday, January 23.

Mexico has become the most dangerous place in the world to be a journalist, and violence is not only on the streets. It is present every morning in AMLO’s hate speech against journalists and the free press.  

TYT Newsroom