MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The presumed mastermind behind the murder of a Mexican journalist was arrested in the eastern state of Veracruz on Saturday, the state's governor said, as Mexico struggles with a wave of attacks on reporters.

Anabel Flores, who covered the police force for regional media outlets, was violently dragged from her home in Veracruz by a group of armed men earlier this week and found dead on a highway.

"Josele Marquez (alias) El Chichi is implicated, among other crimes, as (the one responsible) for the assassination of journalist Anabel Flores," Governor Javier Duarte wrote on his verified Twitter account in announcing the arrest.

"The attack on the media outlet El Buen Tono is also attributed to (Marquez)," Duarte wrote, referring to last year's attack presumably aimed at journalists from that newspaper.

State officials were not immediately available for comment.

Veracruz is considered one of the most dangerous states for reporters in Mexico, with at least 12 journalists killed there since 2010, when Duarte became governor, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov and Jean Luis Arce; Editing by Matthew Lewis)