Mexican journalist who said she feared for her life killed in Tijuana


Lourdes Maldonado López was shot Sunday night outside of her home in Tijuana, the third journalist to be killed in Mexico this month.
An independent journalist, she made headlines in 2019 when she told Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during a press conference that she was in the middle of a labor dispute with her former employer, PSN, and feared for her life. At the time, PSN's owner, Jaime Bonilla Valdez, was running for governor of Baja California as part of the ruling Morena party, and Maldonado asked López Obrador for his "support, help, and labor justice."
Last week, Maldonado won a lawsuit she filed against PSN for wrongful termination, and the company was ordered to pay her back wages. When asked about Maldonado's death on Monday, López Obrador called it "very unfortunate." He said it was too early in the investigation to know if her murder was connected to the labor dispute, and said the killings will only end "when we all move forward to purify public life so that materialism doesn't dominate, so ambition, ego, and hate are set aside."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In 2020, more journalists were killed in Mexico than anywhere else in the world, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. At least four members of the media were the victims of targeted killings, the organization said, and a fifth was shot and killed after taking pictures of a crime scene. Mexico has an underfunded protection program for journalists, which is supposed to give them access to safe houses and bodyguard services. Maldonado was part of the program in 2021, but was still attacked multiple times, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Prior to Maldonado's murder, photojournalist Margarito Martínez was shot and killed on Jan. 17 outside of his home in Tijuana. Earlier this month, reporter and editor José Luis Gamboa was stabbed to death in Veracruz state. Their murders are under investigation.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Gaza is running out of cash
Under The Radar Palestinians pay the price as black market springs up around banknotes and coins
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Law firms: Caving to White House pressure
Feature Trump targets major law firms tied to his past investigations
By The Week US Published
-
Venezuelan deportees: Locked up for tattoos?
Feature A former pro soccer player was deported after U.S. authorities claimed his tattoo proved he belonged to a Venezuelan gang
By The Week US Published
-
Myanmar quake deaths rise as survivor search intensifies
speed read The magnitude-7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar has killed a documented 2,000 people so far, and left scores more trapped beneath rubble
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Israel detains director after West Bank settler clash
speed read The director of Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' was arrested and beaten
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Turkey arrests Istanbul mayor, a top Erdogan rival
Speed Read Protests erupted in Turkey after authorities detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel strikes Gaza, breaking ceasefire
Speed Read 326 Palestinians were killed in the first major attack since Netanyahu's government signed a ceasefire agreement with Hamas
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Houthis vow retaliation amid US airstrikes
Speed Read Trump promises the US will use 'overwhelming lethal force' against the Houthis until they stop attacking Red Sea ships
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Pakistan train hostage standoff ends in bloodshed
Speed Read Pakistan's military stormed a train hijacked by separatist militants, killing 33 attackers and rescuing hundreds of hostages
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published