Mexico: Roxana Guzman third journalist murdered in Veracruz in 2026, RSF demands urgent answers

On the morning of 2 June, armed, masked men forced their way into Roxana Berenice Guzman Ramirez's home in Nanchital, in southern Veracruz. After threatening her, they abducted her. The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic took over the investigation and, to date, eight people have been arrested, including four municipal police officers from Ixhuatlan del Sureste, a town in southern Veracruz. Another suspect in the abduction, José del Carmen Cadena Escayola, known as "Delta 7", was identified through CCTV footage of the attack, according to Mexican media reports. Following his arrest, he allegedly directed investigators to a location where the journalist might be found, where authorities discovered human remains. On 3 July, the Veracruz State Attorney General's Office confirmed that the remains - found on a ranch between the municipalities of Ixhuatlan del Sureste and Moloacan - were those of journalist Roxana Guzman.

The journalist headed Pulso Informativo del Sureste, a Facebook news page covering local community affairs, citizens' concerns, public services, municipal politics and security issues.

The murder of Roxana Guzman is the third killing of a journalist recorded in the state of Veracruz and the fourth in Mexico in just six months. Carlos Leonardo Ramirez Castro and Luis Angel Lopez Valdez were both killed in the city of Poza Rica. The recurrence of these murders in the same state demonstrates that violence against the press continues to intensify and the authorities remain unable to prevent it.