Journalist Heber Lopez Vazquez was gunned down outside his office in the port city of Salina Cruz in the southern state of Oaxaca on Thursday, bringing the number of media workers killed in Mexico since the start of 2022 to five.

Vazquez ran the online news website Noticias Web, and regularly wrote about corruption and politics.

In a statement, the Oaxaca Prosecutor's Office said two people had been detained for their "probable participation in the murder of a journalist."

2022 already a deadly year for Mexican journalists 

According to independent nonprofit organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mexico ranks as the most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere to work as a journalist. 

On January 10, Jose Luis Gamboa , founder and editor of Inforegio news website, was stabbed to death in the Floreta neighborhood of Veracruz. Gamboa had frequently reported on security related issues.

Margarito Martinez, a freelance crime photographer, was gunned down outside his home a week later on January 17 in Tijuana. Martinez had received threats and had informed police.

News reporter Lourdes Maldonado Lopez was discovered shot dead inside her car in Tijuana on January 23. Lopez was involved in covering violence and exposing corruption. She had been receiving protection and had previously said she feared for her life.

The last killing before Thursday was on January 31. Roberto Toledo, who worked as a camera operator and video editor, was shot dead by three people in the city of Zitacuaro.

Toledo had received threats for months and was in a state protection program. He had exposed corruption in local politics, according to his boss.

According to UNESCO, Mexico is the country with the second-most journalist deaths after Syria. Over 85% of the murders since 2006 have gone unpunished.

kb/wmr (AFP, Reuters)