The organization Article 19 reported that journalist Luis Alberto Paredes García, director of the digital media La Ovejita Noticias, faces death threats and a stigmatization campaign allegedly related to his critical coverage of the municipal administration of Paso de Ovejas, Veracruz.
According to the organization, the communicator indicated that on July 6 he was confronted by municipal president Uriel Peralta Barrios, who allegedly warned him to stop publishing information about his administration and issued the threat that "his body would fit in a bag." Paredes García also reported having received warnings from members of the mayor's team.
Article 19 indicated that, after the publication of notes about citizen dissatisfaction with the actions of the municipal government, a smear campaign began on social networks.
Among the messages disseminated, the journalist is accused, without evidence, of being an “extortionist” and the logo of La Ovejita Noticias was altered to reinforce that narrative, facts that the organization considers a strategy to criminalize its journalistic work.
Given this situation, Article demanded that the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists immediately evaluate the level of risk of the communicator and grant him protection measures.
Likewise, he requested the Attorney General's Office of the State of Veracruz and the Special Prosecutor's Office for the Attention of Crimes committed against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) to investigate the threats under the Approved Protocol for Crimes against Freedom of Expression and consider his journalistic activity as the main line of investigation.
The case occurs in a context of high violence against the press in Veracruz. According to data from Article 19, during 2025 the entity was the second state with the most attacks against journalists, with 34 documented cases, while so far in 2026 three Veracruz journalists have been murdered.
The organization that defends freedom of expression warned that threats and stigmatization campaigns not only put the integrity of those who practice journalism at risk, but also generate an inhibiting effect on society's right to receive information of public interest.
