The international organization Article 19 condemned this Tuesday the murder of journalist Carlos Castro, which occurred on January 8, in Veracruz, as well as the worrying disappearance of two women close to the reporter.
In a statement, the organization warned that Wendy Arantza Portilla Ramos, 23, and Karime Monserrat Murrieta Reséndiz, 22, were last seen more than 48 hours ago, after Castro’s funeral, which took place in the Jardines pantheon on the 10th of this month.
Given the disappearance of Portilla Ramos, who is Castro’s romantic partner, and Murrieta Reséndiz, a friend of both, the authorities have indicated that the relatives filed a complaint and that the State Prosecutor’s Office “is following up” on this fact.
Article 19 required the prosecutor’s office, the State Search Commission of Veracruz (CEBV), the National Search Commission (CNB) and the Government of Mexico to have effective coordination to find these two people alive.
Additional information: Reporters Without Borders condemns murder of journalist Carlos Castro
He also urged the State Commission for the Care and Protection of Journalists (CEAPP) to coordinate with the Federal Protection Mechanism for Defenders and Journalists to grant measures that guarantee the safety not only of Castro’s family and co-workers, but also of the relatives of Portilla Ramos and Murrieta Reséndiz.
Regarding the murder of the 25-year-old journalist, he urged the prosecution to investigate in a “diligent and expeditious manner” his homicide carried out by two individuals who attacked him with firearms in a food establishment located in the Cazones neighborhood, in Poza Rica.
Furthermore, in this case, it requested that the Approved Protocol for the Investigation of Crimes Against Freedom of Expression be applied, since it is presumed that the death of the director of the digital portal Code Norte Veracruz was due to his journalistic work, having received previous threats and intimidation.
Castro specialized his coverage on insecurity issues, which is why, according to Article 19, he was a victim of intimidation by municipal police in 2024, which made him eligible for protection measures from CEAPP, which “included patrols at his home, a GoPro camera, as well as a mediation process with local authorities.”
“However, the measures ended months later,” noted the organization’s document, which argued that the communicator decided to leave Poza Rica after receiving another threat in 2024 and that he returned to said municipality in the last months of 2025.
At the moment, the CEAPP and the FGE maintain an open investigation folder with “all the lines open” on this case that took place in Veracruz, the state with the most murdered journalists in the country, with 32 cases, which, Article 19 noted, “still remain in impunity.”
With information from EFE
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