A journalist was shot dead by unknown gunmen on Thursday in eastern Mexico, in what authorities and media groups describe as the latest attack on the press in a country long plagued by violence against reporters.
The victim, Carlos Castro, was a crime reporter with the local news outlet Codigo Norte Veracruz. His killing was confirmed by Mexican media and the State Commission for the Attention and Protection of Journalists, an autonomous agency of the Veracruz regional government.
According to reports by digital news platform RECORD, Castro was attacked while at a restaurant in Poza Rica, a city in Veracruz State. The assailants fled the scene, and no arrests had been announced as of Thursday.
The state commission condemned the killing and urged law enforcement agencies to carry out a comprehensive investigation, stressing the need to identify and prosecute those responsible.
Mexico is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Data from Reporters Without Borders indicate that more than 150 media workers have been murdered in the country since 1994.
Veracruz, which lies along the Gulf of Mexico, has been a hotspot for violence for years, largely due to clashes among organised crime groups competing for control of key drug trafficking routes.
