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Journalist shot dead in Mexico amid wave of cartel violence
A journalist was shot dead Tuesday night in western Mexico, a local prosecutor’s office said, in a part of the country hit hard by drug cartel violence.
Mauricio Cruz Solis, a host on local radio station La Poderosa Uruapan who also published news on the Minuto x Minuto outlet, was killed in the city of Uruapan in the western state of Michoacán.
One other person was wounded in the attack, the prosecutor’s office said.
The radio station where Cruz Solis worked mourned his killing in a statement published on social media.
“Mauricio was more than a colleague, he was an unconditional friend, a source of inspiration and a tireless voice in the service of our community,” the station said. “We will always remember you Mauricio. Thank you for all that you shared with us.”
Wracked by violence related to drug trafficking, Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, news advocacy groups say.
Reporters Without Borders says more than 150 newspeople have been killed in Mexico since 1994 — and 2022 was one of the deadliest years ever for journalists in Mexico, with at least 15 killed.
Cruz Solis’s murder is the first killing of a journalist under the government of Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office on October 1, although there have been other attacks on media this month.
On October 18, gunmen shot at the front of the El Debate newspaper’s office in Culiacan, the state capital of cartel stronghold Sinaloa, which has been shaken by weeks of gang infighting.
A day later, a delivery worker with the outlet was abducted by presumed criminal groups and there has been no news about his whereabouts.
Media workers are regularly targeted in Mexico, often in direct reprisal for their work covering topics like corruption and the country’s notoriously violent drug traffickers.
In August, a Mexican journalist who covered one of the country’s most dangerous crime beats was killed by gunmen, and two of his government-assigned bodyguards were wounded.
In April, Roberto Figueroa, who covered local politics and gained a social media following through satirical videos, was found dead inside a car in his hometown of Huitzilac in Morelos, a state south of Mexico City where drug-fueled violence runs rampant.
All but a handful of the killings and abductions remain unsolved.
“Impunity is the norm in crimes against the press,” the the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report on Mexico in March.
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Archaeologists reconstruct face of 400-year-old “vampire” buried with iron sickle across her neck
Two years ago, archaeologists in Poland made a discovery at a gravesite they could only describe as “astonishing” — the remains of a woman with a sickle around her neck and a triangular padlock on her foot.
Found in an unmarked cemetery in the village of Pien, the 400-year-old woman was thought to be deemed a vampire and those who buried her placed the farming tool across her throat, according to ancient beliefs, to prevent her from returning from the dead.
A research team from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun made the unique discovery in August 2022, and working with Swedish archaeologist Oscar Nilsson, the team used DNA, 3D printing and clay to reconstruct the face of Zosia, as she was called by locals.
“It’s really ironic, in a way,” Nilsson told the Reuters news agency. “These people burying her, they did everything they could in order to prevent her from coming back from the dead … we have done everything we can in order to bring her back to life.”
In a social media post, Nilsson said that, according to legend, Zosia was buried only with the padlock, but when the villagers began experiencing some unexplainable bad luck, they decided they needed to take further action.
“They opened her grave, found the padlock now open, and in great panic placed the sharp blade of a sickle over her neck,” Nilsson said. “In case she would arise.”
Nicolaus Copernicus University
This type of practice became common throughout Poland in the 17th century, as a response to a reported vampire epidemic.
Professor Dariusz Polinski, who led the research team from Nicolaus Copernicus University, said that in addition to practices with a sickle, sometimes corpses were burned, smashed with stones or had their heads and legs cut off. Just last month, archaeologists announced they had found the remains of a decapitated “vampire child” in Poland.
In an interview with CBS News in 2022, Polinski said the discovery of Zosia’s remains left him speechless.
“Such a discovery, especially here in Poland, is astonishing, especially now — centuries later,” he said. “Pure astonishment.”
Magdalena Zagrodzka, who was also on the research team that found Zosia, said the woman’s remains also had a silk headdress, which was woven with gold or silver thread. Zagrodzka said the cap is evidence of the high social status of the woman.
To reconstruct the woman’s face, Nilsson created a 3D-printed replica of the skull using information about the woman’s age, weight and other details to sculpt muscles and facial features, according to a video showing him at work.
“I’m used to reconstructing faces,” Nilsson said, “but in this case, also, I’m looking forward to giving her some human dignity back.”
contributed to this report.
An 18-year-old Florida man is in custody after he wielded a machete at a polling station in Florida Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to harass voters who did not share his political views, police said. The man came with a group to the polling site to demonstrate support for former President Donald Trump, authorities said.
Caleb Williams is charged with aggravated assault on a person 65 years of age or older and improper exhibition of a firearm or dangerous weapon for his alleged role in the incident, said Neptune Beach Police Chief Michael Key at a news conference.
The incident happened at around 4:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of Beaches Branch Library, which operated as an early voting facility ahead of the Nov. 5 election, the police chief said. Williams arrived at the property with a group of teenagers who traveled to the polling location “to protest and antagonize the opposing political side,” Key said. Seven other people in the group were about 16 or 17 years old, with Williams being the only adult.
The situation escalated when Williams “brandished a machete in an aggressive, threatening posture over his head,” according to police. He faced two people, a 71-year-old woman and a 54-year-old woman, as he held the weapon, police said.
The women called police out of fear, Key said, adding, “to say I’m disturbed in an understatement.”
“The group was there for no other reason but for ill intentions, to cause a disturbance. This is not an incident of solely a First Amendment protected right, but one where they were simply there to cause a ruckus,” said the police chief. “Voting in our country is one of the most sacred and protected rights we have. Ensuring everyone’s right to vote is crucial and it will not be impeded.”
The Neptune Beach Police Department shared an image on its Facebook page showing Williams holding the machete above his head in the parking lot, along with another image of the weapon itself. They also posted his booking photo from the Duval County jail.
Williams remained in jail Wednesday morning, CBS affiliate WJAX-TV reported. The station also published video recorded at the site of the incident, which showed the group of teenagers holding flags and signs supporting Trump’s reelection campaign, and chanting Trump’s name. Williams in the video appeared to have speared one of the flags with his machete, and waved it in the air attached to the end of his weapon.