Censorship against journalists in Mexico not only kills or silences, now it monitors, warns NGO Article 19

The organization Article 19 warned that censorship against journalists in Mexico has evolved towards more sophisticated mechanisms that no longer only involve physical violence, but also technological surveillance.institutional opacity and defend watch over information, according to its 2025 annual report.

The document, titled “Structures of silence: censorship, opacity and surveillance”, was presented at the Spain Cultural Center and offers, for the first time in two decades, a regional analysis that covers six countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba and Nicaragua.

During the presentation, Leopoldo Maldonado pointed out that there is a shared tendency in the region to discredit the critical press and treat information as a threat.. “Violence is just the tip of the iceberg of increasingly complex structures of silencing,” he said.

Persistent violence and new forms of censorship

The report documents that in 2025 Mexico recorded 451 attacks against journalists, which is equivalent to one attack every 20 hours. These cases include seven murders, one disappearance and multiple attempted murders related to news work, which keeps the country as one of the most dangerous in the world to practice journalism.

Attacks are not limited to direct violence. The so-called “hostile environment,” which includes smear campaigns, digital harassment and forced displacement, accounted for 44% of attacks in Mexico. Added to this is the use of the state apparatus to intimidate or block journalistic work.

States such as Mexico City, Puebla and Veracruz concentrated the largest number of cases, reflecting a widespread problem both locally and nationally.

At the regional level, the organization counted 674 attacks against the press in 2025. In countries like El Salvador, 100% of the documented attacks were attributed to state structures, while in Honduras and Guatemala a significant proportion also came from authorities.

Opacity and surveillance, new risks for the press

The report also identifies a decline in access to public information in Mexico, linked to changes in the transparency system. According to the organization, new institutions have discarded the vast majority of citizen resources, limiting accountability.

In parallel, digital surveillance emerges as one of the main threats. Article 19 documented 456 attacks with the Pegasus instrument in Mexico, which positions the country as one of the main users of this type of technology worldwide. This program, developed by the company NSO Neighborhood, has been highlighted for its use to intercept the phones of journalists, activists and opponents.

The report warns that security initiatives promoted by the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum could expand state surveillance capabilitiesincluding access to personal data by security forces, raising concerns about potential abuse.

For experts, this combination of violence, opacity and espionage creates an environment where journalistic practice becomes increasingly risky. “When reporting, investigating or even asking questions becomes dangerous, we are facing a phenomenon of silencing that directly affects democracy,” Maldonado warned.

The report concludes that, faced with this panorama, journalism in the region not only faces physical threats, but also a structural system that seeks to inhibit freedom of expression.which represents a growing challenge for democratic institutions in Latin America.

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