Mexican journalist José Carlos González shot dead in Acapulco

Mexico City, May 23, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of El Guerrero, Opinión Ciudadana founder and editor José Carlos González Herrera and calls on Mexican authorities to immediately, credibly and transparently investigate the attack to determine if González was targeted for his work.

González, 39, was ambushed and shot dead by unidentified men around 6 p.m. on May 14 in Acapulco’s city center, in the southern state of Guerrero, according to news reports. He died at the scene as his attackers fled. González was leaving a studio interview when he was attacked.

“José Carlos González’s brutal killing the latest in a string of deadly attacks on the press in Mexico – yet another reminder that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s promise that press freedom would be respected in the country continues to be an empty one,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative. “If Mexican authorities finally want to show their commitment to press freedom, they must bring González’s attackers to justice, lest the impunity that fuels these killings continues unabated.”

González used Facebook as his news site’s platform, where he frequently published short articles, videos and photos on local politics, crime, security, sports, culture, and social protests to his over 143,000 followers. González also posted commentary videos, in which he donned a lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) mask under the pseudonym “Ave Fénix,” without his name or a byline.

González was previously injured in a June 2023, attack, according to a report in El Financiero, a Mexico City newspaper. It is unclear whether he had received any death threats leading up to his killing. 

The Guerrero state public prosecutor’s office has not publicly commented on the killing, and several phone calls by CPJ for comment went unanswered. An official with the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, a federal agency that provides protection to reporters at risk, told CPJ that González was not incorporated into a protection program sanctioned by the office. The official asked to remain anonymous due to not being authorized to publicly comment on the matter.