Remains of abducted Mexican journalist Roxana Guzmán identified in Veracruz

Mexico City, July 4, 2026 — Mexican authorities must credibly and transparently investigate the killing of journalist Roxana Berenice Guzmán Rodríguez, determine whether her abduction and killing were related to her work as a journalist, and bring her killers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Saturday. 

Unidentified armed attackers abducted Guzmán, the founder and editor of news outlet Pulso Informativo del Sueste, from her residence in Nanchital, a town in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, on June 2, 2026. 

Human remains found in Moloacán, a town south of Nanchital in Veracruz, were identified as belonging to Guzmán, according to a statement published by the Veracruz state prosecutor’s office (FGE) on Friday, July 3.

“It is deeply saddening to learn of the killing of Roxana Guzmán, whose shocking abduction was recorded and shared widely on social media,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico Representative. “This is the third journalist who has been killed in Veracruz state this year, a horrifying statistic that reaffirms the country’s dismal status as the most dangerous country for journalists. Mexican authorities must thoroughly investigate whether this killing was connected to her journalism and secure justice for her and the other two journalists killed in Veracruz state this year.”

Eight suspects have been arrested in relation to the killing, four of them members of the Ixhuatlán municipal police who allegedly provided resources and logistical support to the other four suspects, identified as Javier Iván ‘N’, José del Carmen ‘N’, Luis Arturo ‘N’ and Karen Monserrat ‘N’, according to that statement. The FGE did not confirm the motive of the abduction or killing.

Several calls by CPJ to the Veracruz FGE on Friday and Saturday were unanswered.

Guzmán is the third journalist killed in Veracruz state in Mexico in 2026. In June, reporter Luis Ángel González was abducted and shot dead in Poza Rica. In January, journalist Carlos Castro was shot and killed in the same city. Investigations into both killings have not led to any arrests.