(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - México., D.F., 2 September 2011 - Marcela Yarce Viveros, head of public relations for "Contralínea" magazine, and Rocío González Trápaga, a former reporter for Televisa, were found dead on Thursday morning (1 September) in a park in the Iztapalapa borough in Mexico City. They were reported missing the previous night.
According to the police report, around 7:00 am, neighbors noticed two bodies behind the San Nicolás Tolentino Pantheon, in Iztapalapa, which were covered by a tarp. Both were found naked, with signs of strangulation and at least one gunshot wound. According to preliminary investigations, González, who was a reporter for Televisa and also contributed to other news services, owned a currency exchange kiosk at the Mexico City International Airport.
Miguel Badillo, director of "Contralínea", said that the last contact he had with Yarce was at 21:00 on Wednesday as she was leaving a meeting. However, an hour later, another company executive spoke with her by telephone. "In the morning we received a call from her family informing us that she had not arrived home that night. We began to look for her and then we heard this awful news," he explained during an interview.
Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said that while they were not ruling out any line of investigation it appears that Yarce was not carrying out any journalistic investigation for "Contralínea" that could have put her at risk. He explained that for the moment, the authorities are particularly looking into the case of González, who apparently made a large money withdrawal that afternoon.
The last known case of a journalist killed in Mexico City dates back to November 2006, when José Manuel Nava, former director of "Excelsior" newspaper, was attacked in his home.
ARTICLE 19 offers its condolences to the families of González and Yarce and expresses its solidarity with their colleagues.
ARTICLE 19 calls upon the Mexico City authorities, especially upon Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera to immediately conduct an investigation to disclose the identity of the perpetrators and the circumstances in which these hideous acts took place, and not to rule out a possible link between the murder, the journalists' profession and the work of "Contralínea" magazine.
At the same time, we urge the local authorities and the Federal District Human Rights Commission to adopt such measures as are necessary to protect the "Contralínea" staff.
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