Mexico arrests three over journalist's murder
Mexican media reports said the men arrested were suspected drug cartel hitmen
MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Three men have been arrested in Mexico for the killing of journalist Maximino Rodriguez, authorities said, after criticism over a lack of action following a wave of reporters murders.
Rodriguez, a 71-year-old veteran crime reporter, was gunned down in the street on April 14 in La Paz, the capital of the northern state of Baja California Sur.
He was the fourth journalist killed in Mexico this year -- a toll that rose to five on May 15 with the killing of noted drug trafficking reporter Javier Valdez in the state of Sinaloa.
After Valdez s killing, President Enrique Pena Nieto vowed to go after those responsible for the epidemic of journalists murders -- 90 percent of which go unpunished in Mexico.
Activists say that since 2000, 105 journalists have been murdered in Mexico and another 23 have gone missing.
Rodriguez s suspected killers were arrested Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation by state authorities and a special federal unit set up to probe journalists murders, said a statement released Thursday.
The investigation indicates the killing was "directly related to (Rodriguez s) profession," the state prosecutor s office said.
Mexican media reports said the men arrested were suspected drug cartel hitmen.
Watchdog group Reporters Without Borders ranks Mexico the third-most dangerous country in the world for journalists, after Syria and Afghanistan.
Rights activists blame not only the country s violent drug cartels, but also corrupt government officials who allegedly collude in drug trafficking and enlist hired hitmen.
