Photo: Journalist Carlos Castro.
Peace Brigades International-Canada, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project, and the Civil Society Organization Space for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (Espacio OSC) continue to collaborate in the call for a strengthening of the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists in Mexico, notably in the lead-up to the Canada-Mexico Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs expected to take place in mid-May in Ottawa.
The Protection Mechanism operates at both a federal and a regional level, with twenty-four states having regional representations, and eight with a specific budget for the regional implementation of the Mechanism.
Several branches of the Mexican government cooperate through this Mechanism to implement the measures, including the Ministry of the Interior, the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Human Rights Commission.
Carlos Castro
Carlos Castro, 25, was shot dead January 8, 2026. Castro led the news website Código Norte Veracruz and was a correspondent for the local newspaper, Noreste. The CPJ has documented: “The Veracruz State Commission for Attention to and Protection of Journalists (CEAPP) confirmed … Castro was assigned protective measures after an altercation with a municipal police officer in April 2024. The measures expired after Castro left Veracruz in October 2024. Upon Castro’s return to Poza Rica in late 2025 the protective measures had not been re-activated after the journalist ended contact with the agency, according to Ramírez Baqueiro [with the CEAPP].”
Nine journalists killed in Mexico in 2025
The murder of Castro is part of a pattern of violence against journalists in Mexico.
On December 9, 2025, Reporters Without Borders noted: “In Mexico, organised crime groups are responsible for the alarming spike in journalist murders seen in 2025. This year has been the deadliest of the past three years — at least — and Mexico is the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists, with nine killed.”
They further comment: “Although a year has passed since Claudia Sheinbaum became president — and despite the commitments she made to RSF — 2025 was the deadliest of the past three years for news professionals in Mexico, and the country is the second most dangerous in the world for journalists, with nine killed this year.”
Reporters Without Borders has also documented that 28 journalists are missing in Mexico.
Since 2000, at least 141 journalists and other media workers have been killed, according to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) research; at least 61 of those killings were found to be directly related to their work.
The need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism
In March 2024, Amnesty International and the CPJ noted: “Eight journalists have been killed while enrolled in Mexico’s Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in the last seven years, a figure that highlights the urgent need to strengthen and reform the institution.”
In December 2025, the CPJ joined Espacio OSC, a coalition of Mexican civil society organizations accompanied by the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project, in a joint statement expressing concern about the implementation of basic protection measures for journalists by the Mexican Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.
The Protection Mechanism provides protection to over 2,000 individuals, including approximately 500 journalists.
The CPJ also noted at the end of last year: “In recent weeks, CPJ and Espacio OSC have documented failures in the implementation of basic protection measures for at least 10 journalists, most of whom have received death threats.”
The risk continues
The context of risk for journalists continues.
On February 25, 2026, Reporters Without Borders further documented “eight cases of journalists who were assaulted, threatened or robbed of their equipment by members of criminal organisations on 22 February 2026 while covering the violent unrest that followed the federal operation that killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho.”
Unifor
Unifor represents more than 10,000 media workers, including journalists in the broadcast and print news industry.
Unifor highlights: “The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.”
PBI-Canada is grateful for the support of the Unifor Social Justice Fund that enables accompaniment and advocacy to strengthen the Protection Mechanism, including for journalists and independent union activists in Mexico, as well as workers at risk in Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala.
We continue to follow this.
Further reading: PBI-Canada highlights the need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism in Mexico at APG-organized call with Global Affairs Canada (March 27, 2026).
