next Image 1 of 3

prev next Image 2 of 3

prev Image 3 of 3

Javier Valdez, a veteran reporter who specialized in covering drug trafficking and organized crime, was slain Monday in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in one of the world's most dangerous countries for media workers.

Valdez is at least the sixth journalist to be murdered in Mexico since early March, and the second high-profile reporter to be slain in the country this decade after Regina Martinez Perez, who was killed in 2012.

Valdez was shot dead in the early afternoon in the state capital, Culiacan, near the offices of the publication he co-founded, Riodoce. State Prosecutor Juan Jose Rios visited the scene and said authorities were investigating all possible motives, including that the killing could have been due to Valdez's work, though he gave no details.

The federal Attorney General's Office also said it was investigating.

Riodoce reported that Valdez was driving about a block from its offices when he was intercepted by gunmen. Valdez was also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, which reported that he was pulled from his car and shot multiple times.

President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned the killing and said he had instructed federal prosecutors to support local authorities investigating "this outrageous crime."

"I reiterate our commitment to freedom of expression and the press, fundamental for our democracy," the president tweeted.

Valdez was a nationally and internationally recognized journalist who authored several books on the drug trade, including "Narcoperiodismo" and "Los Morros del Narco." The former is a look at the relationship between journalism and organized crime, and the latter chronicles the lives of young people swept up in Mexico's underworld.

Jan-Albert Hootson, Mexico correspondent for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said Valdez and Riodoce were known as a rare source of independent, investigative journalism in Sinaloa.

"And for that same reason, he and his magazine and his co-workers were always under threat of violence," Hootson said.

According to CPJ, in 2009 unknown attackers threw a grenade into the Riodoce offices days after it had published an investigation on drug trafficking. No one was hurt.

By the group's count, some 40 journalists have been killed in Mexico for reasons confirmed as related to their work since 1992. An additional 50 were slain during the same period under circumstances that have not been clarified.

Sinaloa state has long been a drug trafficking hotbed and is home to the Sinaloa Cartel headed by notorious kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is in a New York prison awaiting trial on multiple charges. Experts say Guzman's arrest last year and extradition in January have led to upheaval in the area as rival factions war for control of the drug gang.

"Living in Sinaloa is a threat, and being a journalist is an additional threat," Valdez once said in an interview with the CPJ, according the group's website. "We learned how to live in times when bullets are flying around us."

Hootson said he last spoke to Valdez about three weeks ago and Valdez said talking about the security situation in Sinaloa remained perilous.

He described Valdez as a warm, friendly man, well-liked by other journalists who frequently sought his help to navigate and understand the complex, dangerous state.

"His door was always open. ... Everybody always deferred to his knowledge," Hootson said. "And in that sense, it's a huge loss for everybody."

In a report released this month, CPJ noted that most killings of journalists go unpunished in Mexico. It added that even when there are convictions, they are often limited to the immediate killer and do not clarify the motive.

"By not establishing a clear link to journalism or providing any motives for the killings most investigations remain opaque," the report said. "This lack of accountability perpetuates a climate of impunity that leaves journalists open to attack."

Valdez's murder came less than two weeks after a CPJ delegation met in Mexico City with President Enrique Pena Nieto and other top government officials.

Last Wednesday, the federal Attorney General's Office replaced the head of its division responsible for investigating journalist killings. Ricardo Sanchez Perez del Pozo, a lawyer with a background in international law and human rights, took over the post.

___

Associated Press writer Peter Orsi in Mexico City contributed to this report.</s>MEXICO CITY (AP) — Javier Valdez, a veteran reporter who specialized in covering drug trafficking and organized crime, was slain Monday in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for media workers.

Valdez is the fifth journalist to be murdered in Mexico in just over two months, and the second high-profile reporter to be slain in the country this decade after Regina Martinez Perez, who was killed in 2012.

A Sinaloa state government official said Valdez was shot dead in the early afternoon in the state capital, Culiacan, near the offices of the publication he co-founded, Riodoce. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Riodoce confirmed Valdez’s killing on its webpage, saying he was driving about a block from its offices when he was intercepted by gunmen.

He was also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, which reported that he was pulled from his car and shot multiple times.

Valdez was a nationally and internationally recognized journalist who authored several books on the drug trade, including “Narcoperiodismo” and “Los Morros del Narco.” The latter chronicled the lives of young people swept up in Mexico’s underworld.

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2009 unknown attackers threw a grenade into the Riodoce offices days after it had published an investigation on drug trafficking. No one was hurt.

“Living in Sinaloa is a threat, and being a journalist is an additional threat,” Valdez said in an interview with the CPJ, according the group’s website. “We learned how to live in times when bullets are flying around us.”

Sinaloa state has long been a drug trafficking hotbed and is home to the Sinaloa Cartel headed by notorious kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is in a New York prison awaiting trial on multiple charges.

By the CPJ’s count, 40 journalists have been killed in Mexico for reasons confirmed as related to their work since 1992. An additional 50 were slain during the same period under circumstances that have not been clarified.

Associated Press writer Peter Orsi in Mexico City contributed to this report.</s>Mexico City: Javier Valdez, a veteran reporter who specialised in covering drug trafficking and organised crime, was slain in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in one of the world's most dangerous countries for media workers.

Valdez is at least the sixth journalist to be murdered in Mexico in just over two months, and the second high-profile reporter to be slain in the country this decade after Regina Martinez Perez, who was killed in 2012.

A Sinaloa state government official said Valdez was shot dead in the early afternoon on Monday in the state capital, Culiacan, near the offices of the publication he co-founded, Riodoce. The official was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Riodoce confirmed Valdez's killing on its webpage, saying he was driving about a block from its offices when he was intercepted by gunmen.

He was also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, which reported that he was pulled from his car and shot multiple times.

Valdez was a nationally and internationally recognised journalist who authored several books on the drug trade, including "Narcoperiodismo" and "Los Morros del Narco." The latter chronicled the lives of young people swept up in Mexico's underworld.

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2009 unknown attackers threw a grenade into the Riodoce offices days after it had published an investigation on drug trafficking. No one was hurt.

"Living in Sinaloa is a threat, and being a journalist is an additional threat," Valdez said in an interview with the CPJ, according the group's website. "We learned how to live in times when bullets are flying around us."

Sinaloa state has long been a drug trafficking hotbed and is home to the Sinaloa Cartel headed by notorious kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is in a New York prison awaiting trial on multiple charges.

By the CPJ's count, 40 journalists have been killed in Mexico for reasons confirmed as related to their work since 1992. An additional 50 were slain during the same period under circumstances that have not been clarified.

In a report released this month, the group noted that most killings of journalists go unpunished in Mexico. It added that even when there are convictions, they are often limited to the immediate killer and do not clarify the motive.

"By not establishing a clear link to journalism or providing any motives for the killings most investigations remain opaque," the report said. "This lack of accountability perpetuates a climate of impunity that leaves journalists open to attack."

Valdez's murder came less than two weeks after a CPJ delegation met in Mexico City with President Enrique Pena Nieto and other top government officials.

Last Wednesday, the federal Attorney General's Office replaced the head of its division responsible for investigating journalist killings. Ricardo Sanchez Perez del Pozo, a lawyer with a background in international law and human rights, took over the post.

Pena Nieto condemned Valdez's killing and said he had instructed federal prosecutors to support local authorities investigating "this outrageous crime."

"I reiterate our commitment to freedom of expression and the press, fundamental for our democracy," the president tweeted.</s>MEXICO CITY (AP) — Javier Valdez, an award-winning reporter who specialized in covering drug trafficking and organized crime, was slain Monday in the northern state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in Mexico.

Valdez is at least the sixth journalist to be murdered in Mexico since early March, an unusually high number even for one of the world’s deadliest countries for media professionals.

Valdez was shot to death in the early afternoon in the state capital of Culiacan, near the offices of the publication he co-founded, Riodoce. State Prosecutor Juan Jose Rios visited the scene and said authorities were investigating all possible motives, including that the killing could have been due to Valdez’s work, though he gave no details.

Late Monday, the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office reported an armed attack on the deputy director of a weekly publication in the city of Autlan and her son. The woman was wounded and the 26-year-old son killed.

Riodoce reported that Valdez was driving about a block from its offices when he was intercepted by gunmen. Valdez was also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, which reported that he was pulled from his car and shot multiple times.

Images in Mexican media showed a body lying in a street covered by a blue blanket and surrounded by 12 yellow markers of the kind typically used to flag evidence such as bullet casings.

President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned what he called an “outrageous crime.”

“I reiterate our commitment to freedom of expression and the press, fundamental for our democracy,” he tweeted.

The federal Attorney General’s Office said it was investigating.

Valdez was a nationally and internationally recognized journalist who authored several books on the drug trade, including “Narcoperiodismo” and “Los Morros del Narco.” The former is a look at the relationship between journalism and organized crime, and the latter chronicles the lives of young people swept up in Mexico’s criminal underworld.

Jan-Albert Hootson, Mexico representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said Valdez and Riodoce were known as a rare source of independent, investigative journalism in Sinaloa.

“And for that same reason, he and his magazine and his co-workers were always under threat of violence,” Hootson said.

According to CPJ, in 2009 unknown attackers threw a grenade into the Riodoce offices days after it published an investigation on drug trafficking. No one was hurt.

By the group’s count, some 40 journalists have been killed in Mexico for reasons confirmed as related to their work since 1992. An additional 50 were slain during the same period under circumstances that have not been clarified.

Journalists targeted in Mexico are most often local reporters in places where the rule of law is tenuous, but there have also been killings of journalists with national profiles such as Valdez and Regina Martinez Perez, who was slain in 2012. The recent spate of slayings includes Miroslava Breach, correspondent for La Jornada in the northern state of Chihuahua, who was gunned down in March.

On Saturday, seven journalists were assaulted and robbed by a mob of about 100 armed men on a highway in the troubled southern state of Guerrero.

Sinaloa has long been a drug trafficking hotbed and is home to the Sinaloa Cartel headed by notorious kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is in a New York prison awaiting trial on multiple charges. Experts say Guzman’s arrest last year and extradition in January have led to upheaval in the area as rival factions war for control of the gang.

“Drug trafficking there is a way of life,” Valdez said in an October interview with Rompeviento TV. “You have to assume the task that falls to you as a journalist — either that or you play dumb. I don’t want to be asked, ‘What were you doing in the face of so much death … why didn’t you say what was going on?'”

Hootson described Valdez as a warm, friendly man, well-liked by other journalists who frequently sought his help to navigate and understand the complex, dangerous state.

“His door was always open. … Everybody always deferred to his knowledge,” Hootson said. “And in that sense, it’s a huge loss for everybody.”

In 2011, CPJ recognized Valdez with its International Press Freedom Award for his “bravery and uncompromising journalism in the face of threats,” the group said in a statement. “His loss is a blow to Mexican journalism and to the Mexican public, who see a shadow of silence spreading across the country.

In a report this month, CPJ noted that most killings of journalists go unpunished in Mexico. It added that even when there are convictions, they are often limited to the immediate killer and do not clarify the motive.

“By not establishing a clear link to journalism or providing any motives for the killings most investigations remain opaque,” the report said. “This lack of accountability perpetuates a climate of impunity that leaves journalists open to attack.”

Valdez’s slaying came less than two weeks after a CPJ delegation met in Mexico City with Pena Nieto and other top government officials.

Last Wednesday, the federal Attorney General’s Office replaced the head of its division responsible for investigating journalist killings. Ricardo Sanchez Perez del Pozo, a lawyer with a background in international law and human rights, took over the post.</s>Veteran reporter, who covered drug trafficking and organised crime, was the fifth journalist killed in Mexico this year.

Javier Valdez, an award-winning reporter who specialised in covering drug trafficking and organised crime, was murdered in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in one of the world's most dangerous countries for media workers.

Valdez's killing on Monday makes him at least the fifth journalist to be murdered in Mexico in just over two months, and the second high-profile reporter to be slain in the country over the past few years after Regina Martinez Perez, who was found strangled in her home in 2012.

A Sinaloa state government official said Valdez, 50, was shot dead in the early afternoon in the state capital, Culiacan, near the offices of the publication he had co-founded, Riodoce. The official was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Riodoce confirmed Valdez's killing on its website, saying he was driving about a block from its offices when he was intercepted by gunmen.

He was also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, which reported that he was pulled from his car and shot multiple times.

READ MORE: Double standards: Do all journalist lives matter?

Valdez was a nationally and internationally-recognised journalist who authored several books on the drug trade, including "Narcoperiodismo" and "Los Morros del Narco". The latter chronicled the lives of young people swept up in Mexico's underworld.

President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Twitter that he had ordered an "investigation of this outrageous crime".

Valdez's brother, Rafael, said the reporter had been "very happy" in recent days and had not indicated that he had received threats.

"He was very reserved when it came to his work. He never talked about it so as not to drag people into it," Rafael Valdez told the AFP news agency.

"I asked him several times whether he was afraid. He said 'yes'; he was a human being. So I asked him why he risked his life and he replied: 'It is something I like doing, and someone has to do it. You have to fight to change things.'"

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Valdez had told them he was concerned for his safety just weeks before his murder.

"Living in Sinaloa is a threat, and being a journalist is an additional threat," Valdez said in an interview with the CPJ, according the group's website. "We learned how to live in times when bullets are flying around us."

"The Committee to Protect Journalists honoured Javier Valdez Cárdenas with an International Press Freedom Award in 2011 to recognise 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."

Valdez's murder came less than two weeks after a CPJ delegation met in Mexico City with Pena Nieto and other top government officials, and about a month after the killing of veteran reporter Maximino Rodriguez Palacios in La Paz on the Baja California peninsula.

Mexico ranks third in the world for the number of journalists killed, after Syria and Afghanistan, according to media rights group Reporters Without Borders.

Last Wednesday, the federal Attorney General's Office replaced the head of its division responsible for investigating journalist killings. Ricardo Sanchez Perez del Pozo, a lawyer with a background in international law and human rights, took over the post.

In a 2017 report titled "No Excuse", journalist Adela Navarro Bello wrote for the CPJ that "covering corruption in Mexico means living with impunity".

"Between 2006 and 2016, 21 journalists were murdered with complete impunity in Mexico, putting the country sixth on CPJ's annual index that measures cases where perpetrators remain unpunished," Bello wrote.

"The system seems to be corrupt down to its very foundation; either that or it's simply incapable of achieving justice."</s>MEXICO CITY (AP) — Javier Valdez, an award-winning reporter who specialized in covering drug trafficking and organized crime, was slain today in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in one of the world's most dangerous countries for media workers.

Valdez is at least the sixth journalist to be murdered in Mexico since early March. The unusually high number of killings are seen as not specifically linked to each other but a reminder that impunity for such crimes remains endemic in Mexico, especially in areas dominated by drug cartels and weak or corrupt government.

Valdez was shot to death in the early afternoon in the state capital of Culiacan, near the offices of the publication he co-founded, Riodoce. State Prosecutor Juan Jose Rios visited the scene and said authorities were investigating all possible motives, including the killing could have been due to Valdez's work, though he gave no details.

Riodoce reported Valdez was driving about a block from its offices when he was intercepted by gunmen. Valdez was also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, which reported he was pulled from his car and shot multiple times.

Images in Mexican media showed a body lying in a street covered by a blue blanket and surrounded by 12 yellow markers of the kind typically used to flag evidence such as bullet casings.

President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned what he called an "outrageous crime."

"I reiterate our commitment to freedom of expression and the press, fundamental for our democracy," he tweeted.

The federal Attorney General's Office said it was investigating.</s>MEXICO CITY (AP) - Javier Valdez was driving in broad daylight down a street he must have known well, just a block from his office, when he became the latest victim of a wave of journalist killings that has hit Mexico.

Masked gunmen forced Valdez from his red Toyota Camry, shot him dead and left his body in the middle of the street Monday, said Riodoce, the publication he helped start.

The car was found later in the afternoon on a sidewalk next to an elementary school, wedged between a utility pole and a wall with the motor still running and the gears engaged.

In this photo released by Riodoce, journalist Javier Valdez poses for a photo an unknown location in Mexico. Valdez, a veteran reporter who specialized in covering drug trafficking and organized crime, was slain Monday, May 15 2017, in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in one of the world's most dangerous countries for media workers. Valdez is the fifth journalist to be murdered in Mexico in just over two months, and the second high-profile reporter to be slain in the country this decade after Regina Martinez Perez, who was killed in 2012. (Riodoce via AP)

Valdez, an award-winning reporter who specialized in covering drug trafficking and organized crime, was slain in the northern state of Sinaloa, long a hotbed of drug cartel activity.

He is at least the sixth journalist murdered in Mexico since early March, an unusually high number even for one of the world's deadliest countries for media professionals.

Reporting on Valdez's killing, Mexican media posted images showing a body lying in the street covered by a blue blanket and surrounded by 12 yellow markers of the kind typically used to flag evidence such as bullet casings. Riodoce said Valdez's laptop and cellphone were missing.

Prosecutors announced they were investigating whether the killing may have been due to Valdez's work or a carjacking turned deadly. President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned what he called an "outrageous crime."

Valdez, also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, was an internationally recognized journalist who authored several books on the drug trade.

He was considered a rare source of independent, investigative journalism in Sinaloa, said Jan-Albert Hootson, the Mexico representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

"And for that same reason, he and his magazine and his co-workers were always under threat of violence," Hootson said.

According to CPJ, in 2009 unknown attackers threw a grenade into the Riodoce offices days after it published an investigation on drug trafficking. No one was hurt.

By the group's count, some 40 journalists have been killed in Mexico for reasons confirmed as related to their work since 1992. An additional 50 were slain during the same period under circumstances that have not been clarified.

Journalists targeted in Mexico are most often local reporters in places where the rule of law is tenuous, but there have also been killings of journalists with national profiles such as Valdez and Regina Martinez Perez, who was slain in 2012. The recent spate of slayings includes Miroslava Breach, correspondent for La Jornada in the northern state of Chihuahua, who was gunned down in March.

Sinaloa has long been a drug trafficking center and is home to the Sinaloa Cartel headed by notorious kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is in a New York prison awaiting trial on multiple charges. Experts say Guzman's arrest last year and extradition in January have led to upheaval in the area as rival factions war for control of the gang.

"Drug trafficking there is a way of life," Valdez said in an October interview with Rompeviento TV. "You have to assume the task that falls to you as a journalist - either that or you play dumb. I don't want to be asked, 'What were you doing in the face of so much death ... why didn't you say what was going on?'"

Hootson described Valdez as a warm, friendly man, well-liked by other journalists who frequently sought his help to navigate and understand the complex, dangerous state.

"His door was always open. ... Everybody always deferred to his knowledge," Hootson said. "And in that sense, it's a huge loss for everybody."

Valdez was recognized with the International Press Freedom Award in 2011 by CPJ, which released a report this month warning that widespread impunity leaves journalists vulnerable to attacks in Mexico.

Last Wednesday, the federal Attorney General's Office replaced the head of its division responsible for investigating journalist killings. Ricardo Sanchez Perez del Pozo, a lawyer with a background in international law and human rights, took over the post.</s>Journalists in the U.S. and Mexico are reeling from the death of Mexican reporter Javier Valdez Cárdenas, who was shot dead on Monday in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, where he lived and worked.

Valdez Cárdenas was an internationally recognized journalist who specialized in reporting on drug-trafficking and organized crime in Mexico. He was one of the founders of Riodoce, a local publication in Sinaloa, as well as a contributor for the national newspaper, La Jornada. Valdez also authored severals on the drug trade in Mexico.

On Tuesday morning, journalists took to the streets of Sinaloa with banners saying "We Demand Justice...Not One More Journalist," to protest the killing.

On Monday, in an editorial titled "They hit us in the heart," the Riodoce editors wrote, "It's a devastating blow to us, his family, but also to journalism, in Sinaloa, in Mexico, and especially for those who who investigate, write and publish in freedom."

The publication reported that Valdez was leaving the publication's office in broad daylight when the shooting occurred only a block away from the office. Attackers made it look like they were going to steal his car but then shot him 12 times with two different weapons. "We have no doubt: those who ordered the crime asked the hit men to ensure the target," stated Riodoce. They also said they "had no doubt" that his fatal shooting was due to "his work."

Valdez Cárdenas was last seen carrying his cellphone and laptop, said fellow reporters, neither of which were found in his car.

Valdez is at least the sixth journalist to be murdered in Mexico since march. The country has become one of the deadliest in the world for those who work in the media. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 40 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 1992 for reasons related to their work. Another 50 have been killed during the same time period for reasons not yet confirmed.

Sinaloa has long been a drug trafficking center in Mexico and home to the Sinaloa drug cartel, headed by the notorious Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. According to the Associated Press, experts say that Guzman's arrest last year and extradition in January have led to upheaval in the area as rival factions war for control of the gang.

Valdez was aware of the dangers of reporting on the drug trade. The CPJ reported that, in the weeks before his murder, Valdez told the CPJ that he was concerned for his safety. Earlier this month, CPJ released a report, "No Excuse: Mexico must break cycle of impunity in journalists' murders," about the violence against journalists in the country.

La Jornada reported that Valdez Cárdenas had received multiple anonymous death threats within the last three months.

In a previous interview with NBC News, the slain journalist was asked why he didn't seek asylum in the U.S. Valdez responded that "someone has to tell the world what's happening in my country."

President Enrique Peña Nieto took to Twitter to condemn what he said was an "outrageous crime." He also tweeted: "I reiterate our commitment to freedom of expression and the press, fundamental for our democracy."

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) said in an email that more must be done to protect reporters in Mexico.

"Today and every day we stand with our journalists across the border. We are simply doing our jobs," said NAHJ Brandon Benavides to NBC Latino via email.

"The Mexican Government must do more to protect journalists and prosecute those criminals who kill journalists for doing their jobs," stated Benavides. "In 2016, we saw the highest number of journalist assassinations in more than a ten year period. This year, we're facing an unacceptable continuation of these assassinations."

Despite the death of one of its founders, Riodoce stated "we cannot stop covering topics about drug trafficking — we were born for informing, not for silence."</s>MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say well-known journalist Javier Valdez was shot and killed in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan.</s>Javier Valdez, an award-winning reporter who specialized in covering drug trafficking and organized crime, was slain Monday in the northern state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in Mexico.

Valdez is at least the sixth journalist to be murdered in Mexico since early March, an unusually high number even for one of the world's deadliest countries for media professionals. In a separate attack on Monday, a magazine executive was wounded and a reporter killed in the state of Jalisco.

Valdez was shot to death in the early afternoon in the state capital of Culiacan, near the offices of the publication he co-founded, Riodoce, which reported that Valdez was driving about a block from its offices when he was intercepted by gunmen.

State Prosecutor Juan Jose Rios visited the scene and said authorities were investigating all possible motives, including that the killing could have been due to Valdez's work, though he gave no details.

Valdez was also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, which reported that he was pulled from his car and shot multiple times.

Images in Mexican media showed a body lying in a street covered by a blue blanket and surrounded by 12 yellow markers of the kind typically used to flag evidence such as bullet casings.

Also on Monday, in the neighboring state of Jalisco that is the territory of the ascendant Jalisco New Generation Cartel, gunmen opened fire on Sonia Cordova, an executive at the Semanario Costeno weekly magazine.

Cordova was wounded and taken to hospital and her adult son was killed in the attack, the state prosecutor's office said.

A state police source said her son, Jonathan Rodríguez Córdova, worked as a reporter at the family-run magazine, which publishes local news that includes some crime reporting.

The recent spate of journalist slayings in Mexico includes Miroslava Breach, correspondent for La Jornada in the northern state of Chihuahua, who was gunned down in March.

Valdez reacted defiantly to the slaying on Twitter, writing in Spanish: 'Kill us all, if that's the sentence for reporting this hell. No to silence.'

President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned what he called an 'outrageous crime.'

'I reiterate our commitment to freedom of expression and the press, fundamental for our democracy,' he tweeted.

The federal Attorney General's Office said it was investigating.

Valdez was a nationally and internationally recognized journalist who authored several books on the drug trade, including 'Narcoperiodismo' and 'Los Morros del Narco.'

The former is a look at the relationship between journalism and organized crime, and the latter chronicles the lives of young people swept up in Mexico's criminal underworld.

In 2011, the Committee to Protect Journalists recognized Valdez with its International Press Freedom Award for his 'bravery and uncompromising journalism in the face of threats,' the group said in a statement.

'His loss is a blow to Mexican journalism and to the Mexican public, who see a shadow of silence spreading across the country.'

Jan-Albert Hootson, Mexico representative for the New York-based CPJ, said Valdez and his Riodoce newspaper were known as a rare source of independent, investigative journalism in Sinaloa.

'And for that same reason, he and his magazine and his co-workers were always under threat of violence,' Hootson said.

According to CPJ, in 2009 unknown attackers threw a grenade into the Riodoce offices days after it published an investigation on drug trafficking. No one was hurt.

By the group's count, some 40 journalists have been killed in Mexico for reasons confirmed as related to their work since 1992. An additional 50 were slain during the same period under circumstances that have not been clarified.

Journalists targeted in Mexico are most often local reporters in places where the rule of law is tenuous, but there have also been killings of journalists with national profiles such as Valdez and Regina Martinez Perez, who was slain in 2012.

On Saturday, seven journalists were assaulted and robbed by a mob of about 100 armed men on a highway in the troubled southern state of Guerrero.

Sinaloa has long been a drug trafficking hotbed and is home to the Sinaloa Cartel headed by notorious kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, who is in a New York prison awaiting trial on multiple charges.

Experts say Guzman's arrest last year and extradition in January have led to upheaval in the area as rival factions war for control of the gang.

'Drug trafficking there is a way of life,' Valdez said in an October interview with Rompeviento TV.

'You have to assume the task that falls to you as a journalist - either that or you play dumb. I don't want to be asked, 'What were you doing in the face of so much death ... why didn't you say what was going on?''

Hootson described Valdez as a warm, friendly man, well-liked by other journalists who frequently sought his help to navigate and understand the complex, dangerous state.

'His door was always open. ... Everybody always deferred to his knowledge,' Hootson said. 'And in that sense, it's a huge loss for everybody.'

In a report this month, CPJ noted that most killings of journalists go unpunished in Mexico. It added that even when there are convictions, they are often limited to the immediate killer and do not clarify the motive.

'By not establishing a clear link to journalism or providing any motives for the killings most investigations remain opaque,' the report said. 'This lack of accountability perpetuates a climate of impunity that leaves journalists open to attack.'

Valdez's slaying came less than two weeks after a CPJ delegation met in Mexico City with Pena Nieto and other top government officials.

A special federal prosecutor's office tasked with crimes against freedom of expression said it had started the procedure for opening an inquiry and was sending a team to collect evidence.

The CPJ says that the special prosecutor rarely opens probes into the killing of journalists, typically leaving it up to local authorities.

'The state must respond to these circumstances,' said Sinaloa prosecutor Juan Jose Rios at a rowdy news conference Monday.

Journalists at the press conference shouted at Rios, asking what would prevent them from being murdered next.
An unknown gunman shoots and kills veteran journalist Javier Valdez Cárdenas, who is noted for his investigative reporting on Mexico's war on drugs, in Culiacán, Sinaloa.