On the 2nd of March 2017, journalist Cecilio Pineda Brito was brutally murdered by armed assailants in Altamirano.

While he was waiting to get his car washed, two armed men, on a motorbike opened fire on him. Despite immediate assistance he died instantly. Prior to his death Cecilio had reported receiving numerous death threats. Just before he was killed he had published a recording on Facebook in which he claimed that the state authorities knew the whereabouts of a well known criminal, but were unwilling to act because of close links between the gang and state officials. No one claimed responsibility for the killing.

Cecilio was a well respected journalist who worked  for many well known journals such as «El Universal» —one of  the main national newspapers- and «La Voz de Tierra Caliente», for example.