Killing of Octavio Rojas Hernández

On August 11, 2014, journalist Octavio Rojas Hernández was killed outside his home in San José Cosolapa, Oaxaca, Mexico. According to police reports, an unidentified young man approached Rojas at around 4:00 p.m., claiming interest in buying a vehicle parked outside his house. Rojas had just returned from a social event and stepped outside to speak with the man. While his wife went inside to retrieve car keys, the man shot Rojas four times — twice in the head, once in the abdomen, and once in the left arm — before fleeing the scene. Neighbors reported the assailant escaped in a green Chevrolet truck. Mexican Army soldiers and municipal and state police responded to the scene, but the suspect was not apprehended. Forensic examination determined Rojas died at the scene from traumatic brain injury. He was buried in Tezonapa, Veracruz, his hometown, and was survived by his wife and two sons.

Rojas worked as a reporter for the Córdoba, Veracruz-based daily El Buen Tono, primarily covering the crime section, and also served as communications director for the municipality of San José Cosolapa. Less than 48 hours before his murder, El Buen Tono published an article — written without a byline for security reasons, though Rojas was the outlet's only correspondent in Cosolapa — reporting that Mexican Army and Oaxaca state authorities had seized three vehicles carrying 16,000 litres of fuel allegedly stolen from Pemex, Mexico's state oil company. The article, citing anonymous officials, alleged the vehicles were owned by Cosolapa police chief Fermín Vanegas Fernández, described as the purported leader of the criminal fuel-theft cell. Rojas had also written earlier articles criticizing Vanegas's alleged abuse of police authority. Rojas became the fifth journalist killed in Mexico in 2014.

El Buen Tono had previously experienced attacks attributed to organized crime, including a November 2011 arson attack on its offices by armed men, and an April 2014 arson threat that was not carried out. The municipality of Cosolapa lies along a migrant smuggling route associated with the Los Zetas criminal organization and borders Veracruz, a state press freedom organizations have identified as among the most dangerous in the world for journalists. In April 2015, police chief Vanegas was killed by unidentified assailants while driving a police vehicle.

Miguel Ángel Contreras, director of El Buen Tono, told the press freedom organization Article 19 that the murder appeared connected to the newspaper's reporting on the police chief's alleged ties to fuel theft. He said the outlet increased security measures but continued reporting. The Inter American Press Association and the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killing and called on authorities to investigate and identify a suspect. Article 19 urged Mexican authorities not to rule out a connection to Rojas's journalism and to ensure the safety of his family. As of available reporting, no suspect has been publicly identified or charged in connection with the killing.