‘We only have a pen’: fury as fourth journalist killed in Mexico this year

Journalists in Mexico have responded with fury and despair at the murder of a fourth reporter in the country this year, cementing its reputation as the world's most murderous country for media workers.

"[Toledo] lost his life at the hands of three people who shot him in a mean and cowardly manner," he continued. "We don't carry weapons. We only have a pen and a notebook to defend ourselves."

In response the recent spate of killings, the president, known as Amlo, has instead blamed the legacy of "neoliberalism" and claimed that political opponents were stirring outrage over the murder of reporters to discredit his government.

Adding to the sense of impotence among reporters is the fact that several journalists attacked or killed slain this month were enrolled in a scheme supposedly designed to provide for reporters under threat.

"Nobody in authority cares about journalism, unless it helps keep them in power. Let's not fool ourselves," tweeted Rafael Cabrera, an investigative reporter.

Tijuana photojournalist Margarito Martinez was killed by a lone attacker in his home 17 January, according to state authorities.

Journalists staged protests in more than a dozen Mexican cities last week after Maldonado's slaying.

"What makes such a wave of journalist killings possible is that criminal interests - through government inertia, complicity or direct authorship - are almost never properly investigated or punished," said Falko Ernst, senior Mexico analyst at the International Crisis Group. "There's near-perfect impunity."