Mexican reporter América Armenta threatened online amid intensifying gang violence in Sinaloa

Mexico City, June 2, 2026—Mexican authorities in the northern state of Sinaloa must swiftly and transparently investigate a Facebook page threatening reporter América Armenta with false accusations of association and take immediate steps to guarantee her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

Armenta is a veteran, freelance investigative reporter who has documented corruption, human rights abuses, and organized crime in Sinaloa for multiple local news outlets amid a wave of criminal violence sparked by the 2024 arrest of an alleged former Sinaloa Cartel leader by U.S. authorities. An anonymous Facebook page titled “Punto Rojo” posted an image of Armenta on Tuesday baselessly claiming that she worked as an ‘halcón’ (informant) for local drug traffickers.

“False accusations against América Armenta are especially heinous given the ongoing wave of criminal violence in Sinaloa, where reporters are regularly targeted by organized crime and state officials alike, and amid the near full impunity of crimes against the press in Mexico,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative. “Mexican and Sinaloa state authorities must investigate the publication and guarantee Armenta’s safety.”

Armenta told CPJ that she could not determine whether the post was connected to any of her recent reporting. CPJ has previously reported how similar pages regularly appear on social media in Mexico. In some cases, such anonymous social media profiles have been used by criminal gangs to spread false information, according to numerous interviews CPJ has conducted with Mexico-based reporters in recent years.

Tobyanne Ledesma, who leads the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, a federal agency that provides protective measures to journalists at risk, told CPJ via messaging app on Tuesday that the agency has established contact with Armenta.