Mexico: PEN International denounces threats against journalist Lucero Díaz Estrada and calls for protection

“It is unacceptable that the authorities in Mexico, the country with the highest rate of deadly violence against the press on the continent, allow digital harassment of journalists. Even more alarming are the sexist threats against our colleague Lucero Díaz, which not only seek to discredit her work but also undermine women in journalism." Judyth Hill, Chair of PEN International's Women's Writers Committee. 

11 March 2025: PEN International condemns the digital threats against Lucero Díaz Estrada, a Mexican journalist and director of the media outlet Enlace informativo in Uruapan, Michoacan, and calls for her immediate protection. 

On 4 March 2025, Lucero Díaz Estrada reported that she was being victimised by threats, hate speech and digital violence, apparently from sympathisers of Uruapan mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez. According to civil society organisations and the journalist's testimony to PEN International, the abuse she has received in recent months has a sexist connotation, contains gender-based messages, and seeks to discredit her journalistic work. 

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in its report Women Journalists and Freedom of Expression, stated that “online violence has an inhibiting effect on the exercise of freedom of expression. In particular, while many women journalists choose to continue publishing information despite the violence, harassment and bullying, others resort to self-censorship, close their digital accounts, and/or abandon their profession.” 

In 2023, Michoacán ranked second for violence against women journalists. In a separate case, on 29 October 2024, journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís was murdered after conducting an interview with city mayor Manzo. 

PEN International urges federal and local authorities, including the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights and Freedom of Expression, to investigate the threats against the journalist and provide her with immediate protection. 

Note to Editors: 

For more information, please contact Alicia Quiñones, Head of the Americas Region, at PEN International, email: alicia.quinones@pen-international.org 

For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, PEN International Communications and Campaigns Manager,  Sabrina.Tucci@pen-international.org