Editor of Mexican weekly Playa News shot dead weeks after colleague killed

By Central European News and Press Gazette

An editor-in-chief has been shot dead in a Mexican tourist resort, making him the seventh journalist to be killed in the country this year.

Ruben Pat, the editor of the weekly publication Playa News, was shot outside a bar in the early hours of the morning, according to reports.

The incident took place in the beach resort of Playa del Carmen, about 40 miles from Cancun, which borders the Caribbean Sea in the eastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

Pat (pictured) was the second worker from the newspaper to have been killed this month.

Journalist Jose Guadalupe Chan Dzib was killed in the borough of Felipe Carrillo Puerto at the end of June. His death remains unsolved.

Seven journalists have been killed in Mexico since the start of the year, with over 100 reportedly murdered since 2000.

Mexico is ranked 147th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index.

Playa News appealed to State Governor Carlos Manuel Joaquin Gonzalez to take action after Quintana Roo suffered a sharp rise in violent crime in recent months.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Playa News said: “That is two from our team, Governor. When will the lack of safety in our state end?”

According to reports, Pat was shot at least six times at the bar entrance situated in the centre of town.

UN representative to Mexico Jean Jarab said: “It is vital that a prompt and exhaustive investigation is carried out.”

Officials want the probe to focus on stories the Playa News was working on and to reopen past complaints.

Pat claimed that he was “arrested and tortured” by police in Playa del Carmen last month.

He also said that he had information that would link local officials to organised crime.

Emmanuel Colombie, the head of Reporters Without Borders’ Latin America desk said: “The Mexican authorities must draw the inevitable conclusion from this terrible event, namely that the Federal Mechanism for Protecting Journalists failed in its duty to protect Ruben Pat although his situation of vulnerability had been known for a long time.”