Filadelfo Sánchez Sarmiento

Filadelfo Sánchez Sarmiento (c. 1970 – 2 July 2015 ) was a Mexican radio journalist and director for La Favorita 103.3 FM radio station in Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz, Oaxaca, Mexico. He was specifically targeted and fatally shot 5–7 times by two gunmen during a time of political discontent. The murder occurred around 9:30 am when Sarmiento walked from the local station after just finishing his morning news broadcast.

Personal Among the last stories covered by Sarmiento was an accusation against a local Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate running for federal deputy who was seen accompanied in his political campaign by people using firearms reserved for the use of the Armed Forces. Oscar Valencia, the candidate, went on to win the election. The funeral was held on July 3, 2015. Sarmiento had received death threats for some time, including at the office, by telephone or on Facebook and WhatsApp, but they had become more frequent recently, according to Imparcial Oaxaca. The newspaper reported that the journalist told his coworkers, "I'm afraid, be careful, they say they will bring me down." According to The Yucatán Times, Mexico is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists, and deaths like Sarmiento's are notorious in the southern state of Veracruz. La Favorita celebrated its fifth anniversary of being on air just two months before the death of Sarmiento. After four hours of diligence, the remains were taken to the amphitheater of the Institute of Forensic Services for the purpose of law that an autopsy. During the review carried out at the site, they confirmed he had been shot four times, two of which entered the head. The bullets were confirmed to be 9mm casings.

Context At least four journalists were killed in connection to their work in South America in 2015. The largest number of attacks in 2015 took place in the states of Veracruz was killed at an apartment in Mexico City. In Oaxaca, Mexico Armando Saldaña Morales and Filadelfo Sánchez Sarmiento were murdered tally, a community radio director in Oaxaca, Abel Bautista Raymundo, was killed in April, illustrating the frequent harassment and lack of protection for journalists in this sector. Miahuatlan was one of several locations in Oaxaca where election protests were mounted by members of the Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación, in which election materials were destroyed and political party offices attacked. They were accused of refusing to admit Sarmiento's death had anything to do with his connection to the media. In the past, Veracruz authorities said José Sánchez Mexico City officials were similarly quick to blame Espinosa's death in the Saldaña case; in the Espinosa case, According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, despite increased international attention to the murders of journalists, governments fail to take action to reduce the high rates of targeted violence and impunity.