A journalist became the 17th press worker to be killed in Mexico this year when the taxi he was in was sprayed with bullets.

Writer and broadcaster Pedro Pablo Kumul Amaya worked for news portal AX Noticias but also earned money on the side as a taxi driver.

Authorities found his body slumped inside his taxi in El Castillo, Xalapa Municipality, Veracruz State on 21st November.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing at least three shots, after which the car crashed into a pole.

A woman was reportedly unharmed in the attack.

The social media page Rinconada Veracruz Noticias reported: “He would have had a road problem with the occupants of a pickup truck.

“He was chased and caught up with in the streets of the Lomas de Casa Blanca neighbourhood, very close to a lagoon.”

By the time police arrived, the gunmen had fled.

AX Noticias said in a statement: “We regret the terrible event that happened this afternoon in the town of El Castillo, where our friend, presenter, and reporter for this medium lost his life.”

It demanded the “cowardly act” be investigated so it does not go unpunished “like many others”.

A study by Universidad de las Americas Puebla showed that Veracruz was the Mexican federal entity with the third-highest rate of impunity in 2021.

And Reporters Without Borders says: “Year after year, Mexico continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous and deadly countries for the media.”