When I heard the horrifying news of tourists being shot at the Teotihuacán pyramids in Mexico (one Canadian woman was killed), I was struck by a detail – the number of people who wished to remain anonymous when interviewed by the media. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. For years Mexico was the deadliest place to be a journalist – the media caught between murderous cartels and corrupt officials. The country no longer occupies the number one spot (that goes to Gaza where 53 press members were killed in 2025), but it’s still an incredibly dangerous place to be a reporter. Between October 2024 and October 2025 10 journalists were killed. All of which impacts people’s willingness to go on the record.
The journalists’ killings are part of a wider context of extreme violence in Mexico, laid bare two months ago when masked gunmen from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel went on a rampage to avenge the killing of their leader “El Mencho” by security forces. Yes, the Teotihuacán pyramids’ attack seems to have been carried out by a lone assailant with no apparent links to cartels. But violence begets violence – the backdrop counts.
The current Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has condemned the attack on tourists and called for a thorough investigation. Will that happen in a meaningful way? The jury is out. Sheinbaum is not her predecessor when it comes to freedom of expression (Andrés Manuel López Obrador was actually crowned our Tyrant of the Year in 2022 due to his hostility to the media; Sheinbaum is slightly better here). Both leaders though have in different ways struggled to fully confront and discuss the country’s violence. Sheinbaum says the problem is getting better, citing declining murder rates. Others dispute this, pointing to things like the growing numbers of forced disappearances, which don’t count as murder. Obrador did the same. He proclaimed femicide figures had dropped under his leadership, except he narrowed the reporting period to the lowest point, ignoring the time when the numbers rose under him. Anyone who highlighted this was derided as an enemy of Mexico (as we reported in 2023).
It’s easy to understand why both leaders would want to downplay the violence – it’s hardly a great look politically, nor does it position Mexico as a “top holiday destination”. And with Mexico hosting the World Cup in June, it’s an extra-sensitive moment. Sadly such tactics don’t stop the realities on the ground. The opposite in fact – they feed into the climate of impunity, where ordinary people are so intimidated they are reluctant to bear witness, even to random attacks, for fear of becoming victims of violence themselves.
