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Two more journalists kidnapped, one of them found murdered

Just a week after radio Lí­nea Directa crime reporter José Luis Romero was kidnapped in the northern state of Sinaloa, two other journalists were kidnapped yesterday in Coahuila, another northern state, and one of them, Valentí­n Valdés Espinosa, was found dead today.

According to his newspaper, the Zócalo de Saltillo daily, Valdés was found with a warning message pinned to his chest, a practice often used by drug traffickers.

Valdés was driving home after work in the city of Saltillo with two other journalists when they were intercepted at about 10:45 pm by gunmen, who forced Valdés and one of the others to get into their pickup. There is so far no word of the other abducted journalist, whose name is being withheld.

"The year has begun tragically for Mexican journalists," Reporters Without Borders said. "The federal authorities are obliged to investigate this case as an armed group is involved. We hope they quickly identify those responsible and find Valdés' colleague."

Another Zócalo de Saltillo reporter, Rafael Ortiz Martínez, has never been found after he went missing in 2006. He had written several stories involving drug trafficking.

Valdés, who helped to launch the Zócalo de Saltillo, was responsible for local coverage.

A battleground between rival cartels for the control of drug-trafficking, northern Mexico is one of the world's most dangerous regions for journalists. A total of 60 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000 while 11 have gone missing since 2003. Mexico was ranked 137th out of 175 countries in the 2009 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

Topics: Freedom of speech, Freedom of information, Freedom of expression,