Mexico City, August 22, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mexican authorities to immediately and comprehensively investigate the shooting of Ariel Grajales Rodas and take measures to ensure his and his family’s safety.
Grajales, editor of news website Villaflores.com.mx, was shot multiple times by unidentified gunmen who broke into his residence in Villaflores, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, just after midnight on August 21, according to news reports and a statement by the Chiapas state prosecutor (FGE). Grajales was taken to a hospital where he is in stable condition, according to the statement.
“Even in a country plagued by violence and impunity, the attack against Ariel Grajales is shocking in its brutality,” said CPJ’s Mexico Representative Jan-Albert Hootsen. “Authorities in Chiapas must take all the appropriate steps to help him secure his family’s safety and hold all those responsible to account.”
Grajales is a news reporter with more than 30 years of experience, according to Gabriela Coutiño, a Chiapas-based journalist and longtime friend of Grajales’, who spoke with CPJ on August 21 after the shooting.
Grajales’ Villafores.com.mx reports mostly local news, including local politics and crime and security in the area. Hours before the attack, the journalist posted a short message on his Facebook page about businesses in the area being extorted by criminal gangs.
The FGE said in its statement that it has opened an investigation into Grajales’ shooting but on a possible motive. Several calls to the FGE by CPJ went unanswered.
An official with the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, which offers federally sanctioned protection to journalists, told CPJ via WhatsApp on August 21 that the office is working to provide Grajales and his family with protection. The spokesperson asked to remain anonymous as they are not authorized to comment.
