Jonathan Rodríguez, a journalist from Jalisco, was murdered on Monday 15 May 2017. He was 26 years old.

In an interview with Article 19, Héctor Rodríguez, the managing director of the weekly newspaper El Costeño, told how his son Jonathan and his wife Sonia went out to go shopping on Monday 15 May when they were intercepted by a black van at around 5.00 pm. Five armed men got out of the van and shot at their vehicle, which had 25 bullet marks after the attack. One of the armed men opened the driver’s door and shot Jonathan 4 times. Then they shot Sonia on the right arm and spine. Jonathan died in the attack but Sonia survived, but she still has a bullet lodged in her spine.

According to the organization Article 19, the attack took place « in the context of previous attacks against the newspaper in the municipality of Autlán, Jalisco », as El Costeño had received threats the previous 12 and 14 of May.

Jonathan was a lawyer; in the morning he worked in the Municipal Court as a process server in the area of Public Security and in the afternoon he worked as a police reporter for El Costeño. His last investigation, about local police being involved in organized crime, wasn’t published as he didn’t have conclusive proof.

All of Jonathan’s family thought that he would be a vet: « He brought animals home to take care of them », his sister Sarahí remembers. But from an early age he also accompanied his parents to learn the journalism profession.

He practised taekwondo with his siblings, he played football and he had a motorbike. « He enjoyed going to the beach with his friends, he enjoyed parties and band music », recalls Omar, a childhood friend of Jonathan, « he didn’t discriminate against anyone, he was very popular ».

Source: Matar a Nadie