Two journalists recently kidnapped in southern Mexico have been released unharmed, the journalists’ defense organization Article 19 said on Saturday, but one more remains at large.
Silvia Arce and Alberto Sánchezwho drive RedSiete Digital Media They were released in the early hours of the morning, Article 19 said in a statement. The organization’s protection officer, Pedro Cárdenas, told Reuters that the information had been confirmed by people close to the journalists, but could not give details.
Arce and Sánchez were kidnapped by armed people this week in the media offices in downtown Taxco, Guerrero state, according to versions gathered by Article 19.
Another journalist, Marco Antonio Toledo, director of Semanario Espectador of Taxcoremains abducted along with his son, the agency said.
Toledo’s wife, who was detained when five armed men entered the journalist’s house on Sunday and took him, her son and her, was also released. Cárdenas said that the woman, according to those close to the communicator, did not suffer physical violence.
Guerrero’s prosecutor’s office could not be reached for details on the release and the status of the investigation into the case.
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists in peacetime. In 2022, according to Article 19, there was a documented attack against the press every 13 hours.
In mid-November, Mexican photojournalist Ismael Villagómez has died after being shot in the eye while working in the early hours of the morning as a car-sharing driver in Ciudad Juárez, in the north of the country.
Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that Villagómez’s death was related to his work as a journalist.