Francisco Arratia

Francisco Arratia Saldierna (1949? – 31 August 2004) was a Mexican journalist and columnist for several Mexican newspapers from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. He suffered a heart attack after being badly beaten by a group of men affiliated with the Gulf Cartel, because of his writings about drug trafficking.

Arraita was the third Mexican journalist killed within a six-month period along the US-Mexican border. In 2004, International PEN featured Arratia, as well as the other two, Roberto Javier Mora García and Francisco Ortiz Franco, on its annual Day of the Imprisoned Writer.

Personal Francisco Arratia Saldierna was 55 years old when he was killed. Besides being an active columnist, Arratia was an entrepreneur who owned a business called Automotriz Amex selling used cars. At one time, he was also a high school teacher.

One of the men that was suspected in Arratia's beating was Raúl Castelán Cruz, who allegedly was part of the Los Zetas militant wing that worked for the Gulf Cartel.

Context Matamoros, Tamaulipas, where Arratia was murdered, is key city in the drug war as it occupies an important trade route between the US and Mexico.

The International Federation of Journalists called Arratia's murder a "cold and calculated assassination" and called attention to the plight of local journalists who suffer from violence at a higher rate in the training of journalists. In 2003, the International News Safety Institute was founded in an industry-led initiative to train journalists in safety.