Journalist gunned down in first fatal attack of Mexico in 2020

A Mexican journalist has been shot dead in broad daylight as violent crime in the country – and attacks on the press – continue amid the coronavirus pandemic. María Elena Ferral was shot eight times on Monday by the masked pillion rider on a motorcycle as she left a notary public’s office in Papantla, a city plagued by organised crime in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. She was taken to a nearby hospital, but died of her injuries several hours later, according to the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (known by its French initials, RSF). The state’s ruling party has changed twice since 2016 – with an ally of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador winning in 2018 – but observers say Veracruz remains rife with dangers for reporters and activists.