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Gunmen Kill Journalist Luis Ángel López Valdez on Street in Poza Rica, Veracruz
Luis Ángel López Valdez, director of a local outlet and reporter for Vanguardia de Veracruz, was shot at close range while walking in Poza Rica on Thursday. It is the second media-worker killing in the state this year.
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Gunmen intercepted Luis Ángel López Valdez on a street in Poza Rica, Veracruz, on Thursday and shot him at close range before fleeing, according to Vanguardia de Veracruz. López Valdez, director of a local media outlet and a reporter for Vanguardia de Veracruz, specialized in police and security reporting. The Veracruz prosecutor’s office confirmed the killing.
A reporter who worked with López Valdez said he was under state protection measures at the time of his death. The State Commission for the Attention and Protection of Journalists identified the victim. No arrests have been reported.
The prosecutor’s office stated that one line of investigation links the killing to his journalistic work. In addition to his reporting, López Valdez served as a deputy delegate for the relief organization Cruz Ámbar. This was the second killing of a media worker in Veracruz in 2026.
Both deaths occurred in the same state. In January, journalist Carlos Castro, director of Código Norte Veracruz, was killed in Poza Rica. Journalist Roxana Guzmán Ramírez, director of Pulso Informativo, has been missing since early June in the municipality of Nanchital, Veracruz.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that federal and state authorities are handling the case. Article 19 has documented 31 murders of journalists in Veracruz since 2000 that could be linked to their reporting work.
