Mexican journalist Roxana Guzmán found dead a month after kidnapping; eight arrested, four police officers among them
The body of journalist Roxana Guzmán, kidnapped on 2 June from her home in Nanchital, Veracruz, was identified on 3 July. Eight suspects, including four municipal police officers, have been arrested.
Kidnapping captured on video
On 2 June, armed and masked men broke into the home of journalist Roxana Guzmán in Nanchital, Veracruz. A 35-second video, recorded from inside the house, shows the attackers smashing the glass door with an axe and kicking it in, while a man shouts that there is a minor and a baby inside. The assailants forced the occupants to the ground, grabbed the phone filming the scene, and dragged Guzmán away. The video spread widely on social media, drawing national attention and prompting the federal prosecutor’s office to take over the investigation from state authorities.
Remains found and arrests
On 27 June, human remains were discovered on a ranch between Ixhuatlán del Sureste and Moloacán, about 20 kilometres from Nanchital. The Veracruz state prosecutor confirmed on 3 July that forensic tests had identified the remains as those of Roxana Guzmán. Eight people were arrested on homicide charges. Four of them were municipal police officers from Ixhuatlán del Sureste, who allegedly provided resources, food and logistical support to the criminal group. One of the detainees, José del Carmen Cadena Escayola, led investigators to the burial site. Other suspects include Javier Iván “Delta 1”, Luis Arturo “Delta 11” and Karen Monserrat “La Hiena”, accused as an accomplice.
- Roxana Guzmán kidnapped from her home in Nanchital by armed men.
- Remains found in a ranch between Ixhuatlán del Sureste and Moloacán.
- Veracruz prosecutor confirms identification; eight arrests announced, including four police officers.
A dangerous state for journalists
Guzmán directed the local news portal Pulso Informativo del Sureste, which covered community issues, public security, municipal politics, disappearances, executions, traffic accidents and local business advertising. She is the third journalist killed in Veracruz in 2026. In January, Carlos Castro was shot dead in a restaurant; in June, crime reporter Luis Angel Lopez Valdez was killed inside a taxi despite having official protection measures. According to Reporters Without Borders, 31 journalists were murdered in Veracruz between 2005 and 2024, and Mexico is the second most dangerous country for journalists after Palestine. Article 19 reports that 34 journalists have been killed in the state since 2000.
Calls for justice
Guzmán had previously requested protection from the State Commission for Assistance and Protection of Journalists after reporting alleged harassment by a municipal official, but no protection was granted. Reporters Without Borders condemned the killing and demanded an “immediate, exhaustive, transparent and impartial investigation” to bring both the material and intellectual authors to justice. The organisation stated that the crime “confirms the inability of authorities to protect the press and aggravates the already worrying toll of three journalists killed in this state since the start of 2026.”
She possessed the rare virtue of listening with the heart, of being moved by injustice and of extending a hand with deep empathy.
President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose government faced renewed accusations of collusion between cartels and the state after the police arrests, denied any state involvement.
In Mexico there are no state-sanctioned disappearances.
