MEXICO CITY

Authorities in Mexico’s eastern state of Veracruz said two women journalists who worked for the weekly newspaper El Veraz were shot dead Monday, bringing the number of journalists killed in the country so far this year to 11. 

According to initial reports, Yesenia Mollinedo and Johana García were in a car parked in front of a convenience store when unknown assailants opened fire on it.   

Authorities are looking into their journalistic activities as the main focus of their investigation. 

Mollinedo and García, both from the municipality of Cosoleacaque in Veracruz, became the 10th and 11th victims so far this year of an ongoing wave of violence against journalists in Mexico. 

According to the international human rights organization Article19, Veracruz is one of the most violent states to become a journalist, with 33 such murders reported there since 2000. 

Worldwide, Mexico has become one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist. According to the latest report by Article19 on the matter, Mexico has reported 156 murdered journalists since 2000. 

In the northern city of Culiacan last week, the body of journalist and political commentator Luis Enrique Ramírez Ramos was found wrapped in plastic on a dirt road. 

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been heavily criticized for downplaying the recent spate of murders. 

In March, members of the European Parliament passed a resolution urging him to address the situation. In response, the Mexican leader issued a statement criticizing the EU legislators, calling them "sheep" and dismissing the resolution as "slanderous" and "ill-informed."​​​​​​​ 

According to government figures, with Mollinedo and García's killings, 59 journalists have been murdered since the beginning of López Obrador's presidency in 2018.