Journalist, his family murdered in Mexico

Prominent Mexican journalist Miguel Angel Lopez Velasco, along with his wife and son, were shot to death. They were killed by gunmen who broke into their home in the city of Veracruz early on Monday morning. Journalist, his family murdered in Mexico A motive for the murders has not been determined, but Lopez Velasco's role as the editor of newspaper Notiver established him as a well known figure, and possible target, in the state of Veracruz. Under the pseudonym Milo Vela, Lopez Velasco, 55, also wrote a regular column that focused on local government corruption, drug trafficking and crime. According to the report by Notiver, the armed assailants smashed through the front door of the home around 5:30 in the morning while Lopez Velasco, his wife Agustina and their 21-year-old son Misael slept. The newspaper called for an immediate investigation into the triple murder and demanded that the perpetrators be punished with the "full weight of the law." "We are appalled at the barbarity of this act," IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said. "Not only has crime journalist Miguel Angel Lopez Velasco apparently paid with his life for his reporting on organised crime, but so have his wife and child. The chilling callousness with which these murders were carried out tragically highlights the plight of journalists in Mexico today, where the rule of law is absent, and impunity reigns supreme." Lopez Velasco is the second journalist killed in the state of Veracruz in 2011 and the fifth in Mexico. Just three weeks ago, the body of Noel Lopez Olguin, a reporter for weekly newspapers Horizonte, Noticias de Acayucan and the daily La Verdad, was found in the city of Chinameca three months after his disappearance. Media worker Rodolfo Ochoa, and journalists Jose Luis Cerda Melendez and Luis Emanuel Ruiz Carrillo, were also brutally murdered earlier this year. This latest killing further underscored Mexico's position as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. According to IPI's most recent World Press Freedom Review, Mexico ranked second to Pakistan as the deadliest country in 2010 with 12 journalist deaths. Unfortunately, with almost six months left in the year, Lopez Velasco's death brings the country to that same benchmark. According to IPI's Death Watch, Mexico is now tied with Libya for the second most dangerous country for journalists in the world, with five deaths each, following only Iraq, which has seen seven. Local police stand outside the home of the slain journalist (Beta/AP)

Journalist, his family murdered in Mexico

A motive for the murders has not been determined, but Lopez Velasco's role as the editor of newspaper Notiver established him as a well known figure, and possible target, in the state of Veracruz.

Under the pseudonym Milo Vela, Lopez Velasco, 55, also wrote a regular column that focused on local government corruption, drug trafficking and crime.

According to the report by Notiver, the armed assailants smashed through the front door of the home around 5:30 in the morning while Lopez Velasco, his wife Agustina and their 21-year-old son Misael slept. The newspaper called for an immediate investigation into the triple murder and demanded that the perpetrators be punished with the "full weight of the law."

"We are appalled at the barbarity of this act," IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said.

"Not only has crime journalist Miguel Angel Lopez Velasco apparently paid with his life for his reporting on organised crime, but so have his wife and child. The chilling callousness with which these murders were carried out tragically highlights the plight of journalists in Mexico today, where the rule of law is absent, and impunity reigns supreme."

Lopez Velasco is the second journalist killed in the state of Veracruz in 2011 and the fifth in Mexico. Just three weeks ago, the body of Noel Lopez Olguin, a reporter for weekly newspapers Horizonte, Noticias de Acayucan and the daily La Verdad, was found in the city of Chinameca three months after his disappearance. Media worker Rodolfo Ochoa, and journalists Jose Luis Cerda Melendez and Luis Emanuel Ruiz Carrillo, were also brutally murdered earlier this year.

This latest killing further underscored Mexico's position as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. According to IPI's most recent World Press Freedom Review, Mexico ranked second to Pakistan as the deadliest country in 2010 with 12 journalist deaths.

Unfortunately, with almost six months left in the year, Lopez Velasco's death brings the country to that same benchmark. According to IPI's Death Watch, Mexico is now tied with Libya for the second most dangerous country for journalists in the world, with five deaths each, following only Iraq, which has seen seven.