Journalist and writer Ciro Gómez Leyva was the target of a direct armed attack in Mexico City on Thursday night (local time) as he was returning home.
The journalist was near his home when several men on a motorcycle fired shots at a short distance from the van in which he was traveling, which was armored so that he was not injured.
«At 11.10 a.m., 200 meters from my home, two people on a motorcycle shot at me, apparently with the clear intention of killing me. I was saved by the armor of my van that I was driving and I have informed the authorities of the matter,» shared the host of the nightly news program of Imagen Televisión.
Following the complaint, the head of the Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, has reported the start of an operation to find those responsible: «I just spoke with Ciro Gómez Leyva. We are providing him with protection through the Mexico City Police and initiating investigations with C5 cameras,» she posted on Twitter. The presenter, after what happened, has headed this Friday the 10.30 am newscast (local time) on channel 3.
During a press conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has condemned the armed attack. «I want to express my solidarity to Ciro Gómez Leyva, fortunately there were no serious consequences, we celebrate it because he is a journalist, a leader of public opinion and damage to a personality like Ciro generates a lot of political instability,» said the head of the federal executive.
The head of the Secretariat of Citizen Security, Omar García Harfuch, confirmed the participation of a second vehicle in which more assailants were traveling and which apparently followed the journalist from the television studios to his home. After the attack, the perpetrators fled to the State of Mexico, according to the newspaper ‘El Universal’.
This same week, Reporters without Borders (RSF) published its annual report in which it ranked Mexico as the most dangerous country for journalists, with 11 deaths. With this position, the Latin American country leads the ranking for the fourth consecutive year, ahead of Ukraine, followed by Haiti, Syria and Yemen.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
