Telésforo Santiago Enríquez (died May 2, 2019) was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

radio journalist and professor of indigenous education in

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

who was ambushed and shot dead.

Career

Telésforo Santiago Enriquez worked as a school teacher and as a professor of indigenous education. He founded the community indigenous radio station ″El Cafetal″ in the southern indigenous region of Mexico, in the Municipality of

San Agustín Loxicha San Agustín Loxicha is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North Am ...

Oaxaca state ) , population_note = , population_rank = 10th , timezone1 = CST , utc_offset1 = −6 , timezone1_DST = CDT , utc_offset1_DST = −5 , postal_code_type = Postal ...

. He sought to preserve indigenous traditions and the

Zapotec language The Zapotec languages are a group of around 50 closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages that constitute a main branch of the Oto-Manguean language family and which is spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highland ...

and to protect the rights of

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

through the radio. According to a statement by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission after his death, he criticized local government for diverting public funds.

Murder

On May 2, 2019, the eve of

World Press Freedom Day The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right ...

, he was fatally shot in the mouth and heart. His dead body was found in a vehicle that afternoon. Authorities reported that he had been driving in the neighborhood of Ampliación Tres Cruces when he was ambushed and killed. He had been threatened in February 2019 and had recently received an anonymous threat on his live

call-in In broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which viewers or listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast. On radio ( ...

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

when he was criticizing local government.

Investigation and reactions

The authorities of

Costa Region The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, south of the more mountainous Sierra Sur inland from the coast. It includes the districts of Jamiltepec, Juquila and Pochutla. Climate The region has a tro ...

started an investigation into the murder. Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, a spokesman for the President of Mexico, said the Mexican government was committed to protect journalism in Mexico and would make every effort to find the murderers. In response to the shooting, international journalist organisations expressed outrage at the situation in Mexico, where journalists are often killed.

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

issued a statement on 3 May, emphasizing his work for human rights; Emmanuel Colombie, head of the organization's

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

branch, said: ″This latest murder is a reminder of how dangerous it is to practice journalism in Mexico″.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago Enriquez, Telesforo 2019 deaths 21st-century Mexican journalists Indigenous rights activists Journalists killed in Mexico Mexican male journalists Male murder victims 21st-century Mexican educators Mexican journalists People from Oaxaca Unsolved murders in Mexico Year of birth missing Deaths by firearm in Mexico

Career

Murder

Investigation and reactions

See also

References