PEN International protests the murder of crime reporter Adrián Silva Moreno, who was shot dead in Tehuacán, Puebla state, on November 14, 2012. PEN calls for a thorough investigation into his murder and for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Background Information

A freelance journalist and crime reporter for local media outlets, including the newspapers Global México and Puntual Puebla, Adrián Silva Moreno (34) was shot dead along with a former policeman in Tehuacán, Puebla state. Silva Moreno had been covering an army investigation into the theft of gasoline from a government petroleum company in Tehuacán, an area said to be controlled by organized criminal groups.

Silva Moreno reportedly called another journalist to tell him he had witnessed an armed standoff between soldiers and gunmen and that he had found something important at the scene of the theft which he would explain later. However, his car was then apparently intercepted and he was shot dead; his body was found with multiple gunshot wounds. His passenger, former municipal policeman Misrael López González, was shot in the head after he fled from the car.

On November 19 it was reported that family members and colleagues of Silva Moreno who had attempted to visit his body at the morgue where it had been taken had received threats from unidentified individuals. The police subsequently sent officers to protect the morgue.

The motive for Silva Moreno’s murder is unknown, but colleagues suspect that it may have been related to his reporting on the gasoline theft. He is not known to have received threats from organized criminal groups prior to his death.

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to be a writer or journalist. Since 2000, over 80 writers, journalists and bloggers have been murdered and another 15 have disappeared. Most of these crimes have not been properly investigated and there have been only a handful of convictions.

The rate at which journalists are being killed has accelerated rapidly: since January 2012, 10 print journalists and writers have been murdered in Mexico, including Silva Moreno.

PEN International is currently running Write Against Impunity, a literary protest highlighting the escalating violence against journalists, writers and bloggers in Latin America – in particular Mexico, Honduras and Brazil—and the impunity enjoyed by those who commit these crimes.

Write A Letter

  • Calling for a full and impartial investigation into the murder of crime reporter Adrián Silva Moreno;
  • Urging the Attorney General of the Republic to take up the case;
  • Urging the Mexican authorities to do more to tackle the widespread local state corruption that slows and often prevents proper, objective investigations into the murders of writers and journalists;

Send Your Letter To

President Lic. Felipe De Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Alemán
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, México
Fax: (+ 52 55) 5093 4901/ 5277 2376
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Señor Presidente/ Dear Mr President

Attorney General of the Republic
Lic. Marisela Morelos Ibáñez
Procuradora General de la República
Av. Paseo de Reforma No. 211-213, Piso 16
Col. Cuauhtémoc, Defegacion Cuauhtémoc
México D.F. C.P. 06500
Tel: + 52 55 5346 0108
Fax: + 52 55 53 46 0908 (if a voice answers, ask “tono de fax, por favor”)
E-mail: [email protected]
Salutation: Señora Procuradora General/Dear Attorney General

State Attorney General
Lic. Víctor Antonio Carrancá Bourget
Procurador General de Justicia del Estado
Calle Tlaxcala No. 47
Col. San Rafael Oriente
C. P. 72020 Puebla, Pue.
Tel: +52 222 211 79 00
Email: [email protected]
Messages can be sent via the State Attorney General’s web site

Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against Freedom of Expression
Lic. Laura Angelina Borbolla
Fiscal Especial para la Atención de Delitos Cometidos contra Periodistas (FEADP)
Email: [email protected]


Please also send copies of your appeals to the diplomatic representative for Mexico in your country if possible.