The lifeless body of a Mexican journalist known for his coverage of drug cartels was discovered wrapped in a blanket on a highway, accompanied by a chilling note accusing him of “spreading false accusations.”
Authorities found Miguel Angel Beltran’s body on Saturday along a highway linking the northwestern state of Durango to the Pacific coast’s Mazatlan, located in the perilous Sinaloa state, as per local sources.
Next to the body was a menacing note, stating, “For spreading false accusations against the people of Durango.”
Beltran, previously a print journalist, had been sharing his investigative reports online through a TikTok account under the alias “Capo” and on the Facebook page of local news outlet La Gazzetta Durango, according to AFP.
Just days before his tragic demise, Beltran’s social media updates included a report on the arrest of a leader from the Cabrera Sarabia gang, a group in conflict with the notorious Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartels in Durango.
In a post on social media, Beltran warned, “Let’s not rule out the possibility that violence will erupt even more in the state of Durango, and in the city in particular,” as reported by Mexican news outlets.
“As you can see, there have been recent bloodsheds that are not isolated cases,” he continued, the Telegraph reported.
“They are the result of the entry into the state of the group formed in alliance with Los Chapitos and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.”
Contexto Durango, a Mexican publication where Beltran worked, reported that the journalist was killed and that his son had identified the body.
It was not immediately clear how he was killed.
Beltran is the latest journalist to be killed in Mexico, which is among the most dangerous countries in the world for media professionals.
More than 150 journalists have been killed since 2000 and dozens more have gone missing, according to Reporters without Borders.
Most of the cases have gone unsolved.
“Impunity is the norm in crimes against the press,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a 2024 report on Mexico.
