Since the beginning of the president’s administration on 1 December 2006, at least 30 journalists have been murdered and many more have disappeared. In very few cases have the perpetrators been brought to justice.

Ms Macías was the news editor at Nuevo Laredo-based daily Primera Hora. Her decapitated body was found on 24 September with a message allegedly signed by the Zetas drug cartel accusing her of using local online social networks to expose drug-related violence. Earlier in September, two bodies were found with similar letters reportedly signed by the same criminal group.

“We are appalled that Ms Macías was murdered for using social media and that a climate of impunity protects those who kill and threaten people for exercising their right to freedom of expression,” said WAN-IFRA in a letter to President Calderón. In expressing solidarity with Primera Hora and the wider Mexican media community, the global press organisations called on the Mexican authorities “to ensure that those who murdered Ms Macías are quickly brought to justice and that the climate of impunity is ended.”

Mexico has become the most dangerous country for journalists in the western hemisphere. Complete news blackouts regularly affect the state of Tamaulipas and other regions in the north of the country, where drug cartels tend to be the de facto authority and widespread self-censorship has become the norm amongst media professionals.

The full letter can be read at: http://www.wan-ifra.org/node/41283

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain, France and Sweden, is the global organisation of the world's newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. Its core mission is to defend and promote press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity and the development of prosperous businesses.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 96 bis rue Beaubourg, 75003 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org