Overview
- Carlos Castro, 26, director of the local outlet Código Norte Veracruz, was fatally shot inside the family restaurant TrogueBirria in Poza Rica on the evening of January 8.
- Gunmen entered the establishment in Colonia Cazones on Avenida 20 de Noviembre and opened fire before fleeing, and no arrests have been reported.
- State and federal security forces secured the scene, the Veracruz prosecutor’s office opened a homicide investigation, and authorities activated a Code Red response in the area.
- SEGOB’s Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Castro’s 2024 protection through the state mechanism was inactive upon his return to the city, and federal and state bodies are coordinating with his family and the Veracruz Fiscalía.
- Press-freedom groups including CEAPP, Artículo 19, RSF, SIP, and the Observatorio condemned the killing, urged investigators to prioritize his reporting as a lead, and noted this is Mexico’s first journalist homicide of 2026.