Target on Trial as Mexico Seeks Justice for Javier Valdez

December 18, 2024 – USA/Mexico –

Mexico has renewed its pursuit of justice in the 2017 killing of renowned investigative journalist Javier Valdez by formally requesting the extradition of Dámaso López Serrano, also known as “Mini Lic,” from the United States. Valdez, a veteran reporter who covered drug cartels and corruption, was shot dead near his newspaper office in Culiacán, Sinaloa. Mexican authorities have long identified López Serrano as the suspected mastermind of the murder, allegedly ordering the hit in retaliation for Valdez’s reporting on internal cartel disputes involving the Sinaloa drug trafficking organization.

Mini Lic, the son of a top Sinaloa cartel figure and once considered a rising leader within the group, surrendered to U.S. authorities in 2017 on drug charges. After serving a six-year sentence, he was released on parole in 2022 and has since been under the protection of U.S. federal witness programs. His recent re-arrest in Virginia on fentanyl trafficking charges, however, has opened a legal window for Mexican prosecutors to renew their extradition demands. Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero emphasized that López Serrano is the final suspect remaining at large in the Valdez case, with all others already serving time.

The call for extradition has reignited hope among press freedom advocates and Valdez’s family. His widow, Griselda Triana, welcomed the latest development as a potential turning point, though she expressed caution, citing years of frustration over delays and inaction. Valdez’s death became a symbol of the widespread violence faced by journalists in Mexico, where more than 150 reporters have been killed since 1994, often with little or no accountability.

Media rights organizations have long criticized the lack of progress in prosecuting those who order attacks on journalists, rather than just the hitmen who carry them out. Extraditing Mini Lic and prosecuting him for his alleged role in orchestrating the assassination would mark a rare instance of legal action against a high-level figure behind a journalist’s killing. For many in Mexico’s media community, securing that outcome is about more than one case—it is about challenging a culture of impunity that has long endangered the country’s free press.

Reference –

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-asks-us-extradite-mini-lic-mastermind-journalist-murder/

Mexico requests extradition of suspected mastermind of journalist Javier Valdez’s murder

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy3pyd7wp0o