The Murder of Regina Martínez

A journalist covering corruption and organized crime

Regina Martínez was a respected investigative reporter and the Veracruz correspondent for Proceso. Her work covered organized crime, alleged official corruption, abuses of power and the security crisis in a state where reporting had become increasingly dangerous.

In the period immediately before her death, she had reported on cases involving alleged links between public officials, police and organized crime. That professional context became one of the reasons press-freedom groups repeatedly argued that her journalism had to be examined as a possible motive.

The murder

On April 28, 2012, Martínez was found dead inside her home in Xalapa. Contemporary reporting said authorities initially described the death as caused by strangulation and noted that some personal property appeared to have been taken.

The killing caused national and international concern because Veracruz was already developing a record of lethal violence against journalists. Press-freedom organizations urged investigators not to dismiss a possible link to her reporting.

The first prosecution

State authorities later arrested Jorge Antonio Hernández Silva, also known as “El Silva,” and obtained a murder conviction and a lengthy prison sentence. That outcome did not end the case.

On August 8, 2013, a criminal chamber of the Veracruz Superior Court overturned Hernández Silva's conviction. Reporters Without Borders reported that the court found the evidence insufficient and that the case rested essentially on a confession that had been alleged to have been obtained under torture.

Because the conviction was annulled, this page does not describe Hernández Silva as the proven killer.

Questions about the investigation

Investigative reporting and press-freedom organizations later identified serious concerns about how the case had been handled, including whether investigators had adequately pursued leads connected to Martínez's journalism and whether the official theory had been built around unreliable evidence.

In 2021, Reporters Without Borders, Propuesta Cívica and Proceso formally asked Mexico's federal special prosecutor for crimes against freedom of expression to reopen or federalize the investigation. Their request cited alleged irregularities in the Veracruz investigation and asked authorities to identify both material perpetrators and any people who may have ordered the crime.

Status in the 2026 review

Recent reporting in 2026 continued to cite Martínez's killing as an emblematic example of violence against journalists in Veracruz and of the broader pattern of impunity surrounding such crimes. The sources reviewed for this file did not identify a later final conviction that resolved the murder after the 2013 judgment was overturned.

That does not prove any particular theory about motive or perpetrator. It means the responsible editorial description remains unsolved / unresolved.

Timeline

Current status

The case is unsolved / unresolved. A conviction obtained in the original state investigation was overturned, and the sources reviewed through August 2026 did not establish a later final conviction for Regina Martínez's murder.

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