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New York, May 15, 2017–The Mexican prosecutor for crimes against freedom of expression in Mexico should swiftly investigate the murder of Javier Valdez Cárdenas and bring all those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Valdez was shot and killed today near the offices of Ríodoce, the local weekly he founded in 2003 in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state, according to reports.

Valdez, who CPJ honored with an International Press Freedom Award in 2011, was also a correspondent for the daily La Jornada. He covered drug trafficking and crime and wrote a number of books about the drug trade. Valdez told CPJ in the weeks before his murder that he was concerned for his safety.

“The Committee to Protect Journalists honored Javier Valdez Cárdenas with an International Press Freedom Award in 2011 to recognize his bravery and uncompromising journalism in the face of threats,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “His loss is a blow to Mexican journalism and to the Mexican public, who see a shadow of silence spreading across the country.”

Earlier this month CPJ released a report, “No Excuse: Mexico must break cycle of impunity in journalists’ murders,” about violence against journalists in the country.