On August 7, PBI-Mexico posted: “Four years after her murder, today we have been accompanying the commemorative act towards Miroslava Breach.”

PBI-Mexico adds: “We remember her work as a journalist and her commitment to human rights. A plaque was placed in her memory and in memory of the +20 journalists killed in the state of Chihuahua. The truth is not silenced by killing journalists.”

Infobae reports: “Several women’s groups gathered this Saturday afternoon outside the Government Palace of Chihuahua to remember the birth of journalist Miroslava Breach, who was murdered on March 23, 2017 due to her investigations into narco-politics in the state. Around 1:30 p.m. dozens of women arrived to begin the day of tributes. The first of these was to place a commemorative plaque on the sidewalk in front of the back door of the official compound, on Libertad Street, with the aim of keeping her legacy alive.”

Aljazeera has reported: “Breach, a 54-year-old veteran crime and politics reporter, was shot eight times in the head on March 23, 2017, as she left her home to take her son to school. Breach, who covered the country’s drug war, was one of 11 journalists murdered in 2017. More than 100 have been killed since 2000, but 90 percent of the murders remain unsolved. Breach’s murder was the rare media killing in Mexico to lead to a conviction.”

Last month, La Jornada reported: “Four years after the murder of Miroslava Breach Velducea, La Jornada’s correspondent in Chihuahua, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Committed against Freedom of Expression (Feadle) has already obtained convictions for two of those involved in the attack that deprived her of her life and there are two arrest warrants to be executed.” The man suspected of the actual shooting, Ramon Zavala, was reportedly killed by unidentified assailants.

Notably, just days ago, on August 4, The Guardian reported: “The Mexican government has launched legal action against US gunmakers in an unprecedented attempt to halt the flow of guns across the border. The lawsuit alleges that gun companies openly pandered to Mexican criminals, citing Colt’s special edition .38 pistol. One such weapon was used in the 2017 murder of the Chihuahua journalist Miroslava Breach, who investigated links between politicians and organized crime and was shot dead while taking her son to school.”

In terms of a fuller context, Mondiaal Nieuws reports: “Violence in Mexico has escalated since then-President Calderón declared war on drug cartels in 2006. He had the army take out leaders, causing the big cartels to disintegrate into smaller, often even more violent networks. They gained more and more control over local politics. They put pressure on politicians or won a seat at municipal or regional level.”

In June 2021, a federal judge in the state of Chihuahua sentenced Hugo Amed Schultz Alcaraz, the former mayor of the Chihuahua city of Chínipas, to 8 years in prison for his role in providing information about Breach to the criminal gang that allegedly planned and carried out her murder.

Please, consider donating to PBI-USA. You can make a safe donation here.

Make a Difference, help protect human rights defenders!

Support our 40th Year Anniversary Campaign by making a donation

2021 is Peace Brigades International's 40th Year Anniversary! 

Whether human rights defenders fight for social equality, justice, or environmental and indigenous rights, we must protect their vision of the future. For 40 years, PBI has provided protection so defenders can continue their work. With your support, we can ensure that PBI-USA can continue to make space for peace.

Together, we will provide life-saving support to more threatened defenders in urgent need of protection.

Please consider donating to our campaign.