Mexicoupdated 2h ago2 min read
Armed Group Kills Journalist Hamurabi Huesca Manzano in Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Hamurabi Huesca Manzano, Pinotepa Comunica director, was killed in an armed attack in Pinotepa Nacional. The attack occurred Friday afternoon in La Planta neighborhood, leaving two others dead.
Oaxaca journalist killed
Hamurabi Huesca Manzano, an independent journalist and director of Pinotepa Comunica, was killed in the municipality of Pinotepa Nacional on the Oaxaca coast after an armed group opened fire on him and two others.
The Oaxaca State Attorney General’s Office said the attack took place on Calle 9a. Poniente and 15a Sur in the Planta neighborhood, in the municipal seat of Pinotepa, and it reported that Huesca Manzano died at the scene.
The state prosecutor’s report said the shooting was aimed at a man known as “El Dario,” and it said El Dario was wounded in the shooting and died in hospital hours later.
Article 19 condemned the killing and demanded that the prosecutor’s office treat Huesca Manzano’s journalistic work as a priority in its investigation, after the journalist was also described as a taxi driver waiting to take El Dario somewhere else.
Competing details on scene
Oaxaca authorities said one line of inquiry pointed to a dispute between local criminal groups, and the intended target of the shooting was “El Dario.” Al Jazeera reported that local reports gave differing accounts of where the attack happened, with some saying Huesca Manzano was shot at his home and that a woman was also injured.
La Clave Online said the attack happened at a building in the La Planta neighborhood, where armed individuals burst in and opened fire on the people present at the scene. El País said the attack occurred in the afternoon when an armed group arrived at the house where El Darío was located in the center of the town, and it quoted the state Public Prosecutor’s Office saying the taxi driver was hit by projectiles and died at the scene.
Investigation and wider risk
The Oaxaca State Attorney General’s Office said it began investigations and deployed a multidisciplinary team through the Costa Regional Deputy Attorney General’s Office, including State Investigation Agents (AEI), forensic experts, and Public Prosecutors. The Fiscalía General statement said, "All elements and circumstances surrounding these deaths are being exhaustively investigated," and it said the investigation aimed to locate those responsible, present them to justice, and prevent the facts from remaining in impunity.
Article 19 said the killing added to a tally of journalist homicides tracked by Reporters Without Borders, and it said Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. El Mundo said the number of journalists killed in Mexico this year rose to nine, and it said Reporters Without Borders considers Mexico the deadliest country for journalism in the Americas for at least 15 years and places it at position 122 of 180 in its 2026 World Press Freedom Ranking.