On Friday, January 17, 2025, journalist Calletano de Jesús Guerrero, deputy director of the media outlet Global México, was murdered in Teoloyucan, State of Mexico, by unknown men. Guerrero, who had been a beneficiary of the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists since 2014, was shot in a parking lot of the parish by individuals traveling on a motorcycle, according to the organization Article 19.
Guerrero's murder has shocked the journalistic community, as the journalist had previously reported threats and assaults. Article 19 pointed out that the journalist had been subjected to constant attacks and that the crime could be related to his journalistic work.
The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) condemned the murder, calling on Mexican authorities to investigate the assassination thoroughly, taking into account his work as a journalist. The MX Media Alliance described the murder as further evidence of the inadequacy of protection measures for journalists in Mexico and urged a review of the Protection Mechanism.
Meanwhile, the Federal Protection Mechanism indicated that Calletano Guerrero had an active protection plan since May 2, 2014. Despite this safeguard, the journalist had reported several prior incidents, including the theft of his vehicle on December 14, 2024, and two attempts of aggression at his home. One in November 2024, and the most recent in January 2025, when a group related to organized crime came to his house to threaten him with death.
The murder of Calletano Guerrero adds to the rising number of journalist murders in Mexico. Since the year 2000, more than 169 journalists have been murdered in the country, according to figures from Article 19. Of those cases, at least two have occurred during the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, which began on October 1, 2024. This crime represents a new blow to press freedom in Mexico, a country where assaults and murders against journalists continue to be a serious concern for the protection of human rights and freedom of expression.