A Veracruz journalist who was supposed to have been provided security was murdered in a hail of bullets Friday night in Actopan.

Jorge Celestino Ruiz Vázquez was a reporter for the daily Gráfico de Xalapa, one of the state capital’s oldest newspapers.

Gunmen shot and killed the journalist at about 9:00pm in the Bocanita neighborhood.

According to the newspaper Ríodoce, Ruiz had received death threats and his house had been shot at on three separate occasions, triggering an order that he and his family be provided with security.

But it appears the order was not fulfilled. The state attorney general said today the reason why security measures were not provided will investigated.

Veracruz Governor Cuitláhuac García Jiménez condemned the killing and promised to apprehend those responsible.

“We condemn the cowardly killing of Jorge Ruiz, reporter for a local newspaper. We will catch those responsible; his murder will not go unpunished. For the last several hours we have been coordinating an operation to capture the culprits.”

Ruiz was the third journalist murdered this week. Yesterday morning, reporter and local official Edgar Alberto Nava was shot on a beach in Zihuatanejo, while the body of Guerrero journalist Rogelio Barragán was found in the trunk of a car in the state of Morelos on Tuesday night.

Nine reporters have lost their lives in Mexico this year.

Source: El Universal (sp), RíoDoce (sp), Milenio (sp)