Journalist Shot Dead in Mexico

A journalist, Armando Linares, director of Monitor Michoacan has been shot dead in western Mexico, making it the eighth to be murdered so far in 2022 in an unprecedented spate of killings that has raised fears about the safety of journalists in the country.

It was gathered that Armando Linares was killed at a house in the city of Zitacuaro in the state of Michoacan, the state attorney general’s office said on Tuesday.

Linares’ killing came six weeks after the killing of a colleague, Roberto Toledo, from the same outlet Monitor Michoacan. It was Linares who announced Toledo’s death on January 31 in a video posted to social media.

Michoacan has long been convulsed by turf wars between powerful gangs battling for control of the market for illicit drugs.

There was no immediate information on a possible motive in the killing.