MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican journalist who covered the police in the violent southwestern state of Guerrero was found dead in the trunk of a vehicle with signs he had been shot and tortured, local police said on Tuesday.

Mexico has been one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in recent years, although it was not immediately clear if the killing of Rogelio Barragan was linked to his work.

Barragan, a director of an internet portal that covered the south of the country, was found in the neighboring central state of Morelos. He had been shot at least twice and his body showed signs of torture, police said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to bring down violence. But free-speech advocacy group Article XIX has documented seven cases of journalists who have been killed since he took office in December.