Renowned journalist killed as Mexico struggles to contain violence

The head of a Mexico-based evangelical megachurch has been sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison for sexually abusing three girls.

The Mexican state of Michoacan is facing an unprecedented wave of violence. More than 800 homicides have been recorded there since January, making it Mexico's most violent state. Criminal groups are waging war to control territory, while the state's residents have become hostages and victims of the violence. Our correspondents Quentin Duval, Laurence Cuvillier and Juan José Estrada Serafín report.

The Mexican state of Michoacan is facing an unprecedented wave of violence. Since January, more than 800 homicides have been recorded there, making it Mexico's most violent state. While criminal groups wage a war to control territory, the state's residents pay a heavy price: kidnappings, murders and forced displacements. Our correspondents met one local man who decided to stand up to organised crime by leading a vigilante group. For many other residents, though, exile is the only viable choice.

Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador has angered the Jewish community by comparing a prominent member to Hitler. It's not the first time the leftist leader has tried to smear opponents with such comparisons.

The death is the latest in a spate of attacks on journalists. Human rights groups say 2022 has already become the most deadly year for journalists in Mexico in recent memory.

Official accounts say 43 students who went missing in 2014 were abducted by corrupt police and handed over to a gang to be murdered. Now a Mexican government official has alleged that an army commander ordered the deaths of at least six of them.

Poverty, fewer opportunities and a lack of state presence makes Colombia a haven for cartels.

In early 2022, in the Mexican city of Tijuana, two journalists were murdered less than a week apart. The killings of Margarito Martínez and Lourdes Maldonado represent the multiple dangers facing media professionals in Mexico, one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.

Things take a strange turn after a Mexican cartel leaves five people bound and alive at an intersection - saying they were the kidnappers behind the abduction of American tourists last week.

Nine out of 10 prisoners in Mexico had contact with some criminal activity from the age of six, reflecting the normalization of violence from an early age in the country, revealed Monday a study by the organization Reinserta.

In Canada, there has been a marked increase in the number of Mexican travelers seeking asylum at Montreal's airport since early last year. Since 2016, these travelers have been allowed to arrive without visa stipulations, a result of new entry regulations revised by the then newly-elected Liberal government.

The mayor of a small town in Mexico married his crocodile bride on Friday (June 30) in a colorful ceremony as traditional music rang out and revelers danced while imploring the indigenous leader to seal the nuptials with a kiss. The tradition is thought to go back centuries to pre-colonial times.