Mexico: 2 sons of 2 Mexican journalists killed in wave of violence
Law enforcement efforts against the drug trade have not been able to stop violence, which has killed more than 55,000 people in Mexico since 2006.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Two sons of two prominent journalists were gunned down in Chihuahua in northern Mexico over the weekend, in a wave of deadly violence across the country.
Alfredo Paramo, 20, and Diego Paramo, 21, were shot dead by gunmen as they drove home early Saturday in Chihuahua city.
Their parents are well-known journalists in Mexico: David Paramo, a financial journalist of TV Azteca who also hosts a radio program and writes a column for a national newspaper, and Martha Gonzalez, the editor of the local El Peso newspaper.
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the media, and criminals frequently target reporters and photographers for reporting on their activities.
Yet the Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office said Sunday the brothers’ deaths were not related to their parents’ work, but didn't elaborate on other possible motives.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed in a tweet his condolences to the parents and ordered the national attorney general's office to assist in the investigation.
In all, at least 30 bodies were found across the country over the weekend.
In the northern state of Sinaloa, 15 bodies were found, including six dumped beside a highway.
In a northern suburb of Mexico City, seven bodies were found on a street. They had been shot to death.
And in Michoacan, a violence-ridden state in western Mexico, six bodies were found buried in a shallow grave with their hands cut off.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since December 2006 and, despite Pena Nieto's vow to reduce such crimes, the slaying continues.