Mexico news anchor survives shooting amid surge in violence against journalists

Ciro Gómez Leyva, a news anchor for the national news network, Grupo Imagen, was driving a bulletproof SUV when the pillion rider on a motorcycle opened fire on him late on Thursday.

Gómez was unharmed, but the attack highlighted the dramatic escalation in violence against Mexican journalists under the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, popularly known as Amlo.

López Obrador has repeatedly lambasted journalists critical of his administration, and violence against journalists has increased by 85% since he took office, according to the press freedom organization, Article 19. Earlier this year, the director of the nonprofit received a death threat the same day he presented a report on the increasing dangers faced by journalists in the country.

Mexico City was once considered safer than many regions of the country for journalists. But that is changing.

The danger for journalists based in the city has increased in recent years. Rubén Espinoza, a photographer for Proceso Magazine, fled the state of Veracruz for Mexico City after receiving death threats while covering corruption allegations against then-governor Javier Duarte. He was shot dead in his apartment in 2015, along with four other people.

And government officials have not been spared the violence here.