Local reporter shot dead in Western Mexico

A local reporter, who covered agriculture and occasionally crime in the western Mexican state of Michoacán, was shot dead on Saturday night.

Gerardo Israel García Pimentel, who wrote for the daily La Opinión de Michoacán, was found in the stairway of the car park of the hotel in which he lived. He had been shot about 20 times with an assault rifle and a revolver, according to Reporters Without Borders.

A brother and cousin of his are reportedly missing, according to the local press in the state, and his fellow journalists said that they weren’t aware of any motive for the killing.

Senior staff at La Opinión de Michoacán said that García Pimentel “basically covered agricultural stories and sometimes breaking news, but only occasionally.”

He also wrote about “politics, social issues and, sporadically, crime but he was not the only one to cover crime, there were three or four,” one of his editors said.

A statement from Reporters Without Borders this morning said: “The motive for terrible murder is still unknown but the way García was apparently pursued before he was killed suggests he was personally targeted.

“Michoacán is one of the states that have been hit worst by violence against the press, above all because of its powerful drug cartels. We extend our condolences to García’s family and we urge the authorities to take the case seriously and to explore the possibility that he was killed in connection with his work.”