Official: Suspect in Killing of Mexican Journalist Arrested

Mexico City, Apr 24 (AP) Mexican authorities arrested the suspected killer of internationally recognized journalist Javier Valdez on Monday night, Interior Secretary Alfonso Navarrete Prida said.

Navarrete said via Twitter that federal agents in a joint operation had just arrested the suspect, but provided no details.

Valdez was gunned down in a street in Culiacan in the western state of Sinaloa on May 15, 2017.

He was known outside Mexico for his deeply nuanced books about the intersection of drug cartels, politicians and other segments of society. Inside Mexico, he was respected as a veteran journalist who generously shared his knowledge and kept readers informed with a regular column in Riodoce, a publication he helped found.

His killing led to a resounding outcry, but the killings of Mexican journalists have continued.

Isamel Bojorquez, Riodoce's editor and a friend of Valdez, confirmed the news. He said the suspected shooter was arrested in the border city of Tijuana and was a member of an organized crime group. He declined to say which one, but said it had to do with the war that the Sinaloa cartel is in.

The Sinaloa cartel has been battling with the Jalisco New Generation cartel for territory in western Mexico, especially since the 2016 capture of Sinaloa's former leader, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, and his subsequent extradition to the United States last year.

A spokeswoman for the Interior ministry said she was not sure if additional information would be released Monday.(AP) AMS

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