A journalist known for reports on organized crime in Mexico has been killed, authorities confirmed Monday, highlighting once again the deadly risks faced by reporters in the country.
The victim, Miguel Angel Beltran, had previously worked in print media before turning to social platforms to cover crime-related stories, according to local reports. His body was discovered Saturday along a highway linking the northwestern state of Durango with Mazatlán, a popular resort city in neighboring Sinaloa, local outlets reported.
Beltran had been active on TikTok, under the handle Capo, and on Facebook via the page La Gazzetta Durango, AFP confirmed. In one of his final posts, dated October 22, he reported on the arrest of a leader of the Cabrera Sarabia gang, a criminal group based in Durango and a rival to the powerful Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels.
Mexico remains one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists, with more than 150 media workers killed since 1994, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
In November 2024, photojournalist Ismael Villagomez was shot dead in Ciudad Juárez, a border city across from El Paso, Texas. Three suspects were arrested in that case.
At least five journalists were killed in Mexico in 2023, RSF noted. Beltran, like many others targeted in recent years, worked in cartel-dominated regions and relied on local or social media to share his reporting — often under dangerous and precarious conditions.
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