Press release

UNESCO Director-General condemns killings of journalists Israel Vázquez Rangel and Jesús Alfonso Piñuelas in Mexico

UNESCO observatory of killed journalists

2020/106

10 November 2020

Last update:20 April 2023

The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has called for an investigation into the killing, in two separate incidents, of journalists Israel Vázquez Rangel in the municipality of Salamanca in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato on 9 November, and of Jesús Alfonso Piñuelas, in Cajeme, in the northern Mexican state of Sonora.

I condemn the murders of Israel Vázquez Rangel and Jesús Alfonso Piñuelas. I call on the Mexican authorities to take measures to improve the safety of journalists and enable them to carry out their work without having to fear for their lives. I trust that both of these crimes will be investigated and that their perpetrators will be held to account.

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General

Israel Vázquez Rangel was shot dead on 9 November while covering a story for digital newspaper El Salmantino.

Jesús Alfonso Piñuelas—founder of the news media Zarathustra Press and of El Shock de la Noticia and a contributor to numerous outlets including Televisora del Yaqui, and ICI News Agency—was fatally shot while riding his motorcycle on 2 November.

UNESCO promotes the through global awareness-raising, capacity building and a range of actions, notably in the framework of the .