COUNTYWIDE

Two local journalists’ organizations have announced that they are offering a $4,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the slaying of Mexican journalist Hector (Gato) Felix Miranda.

Miranda, a Tijuana-based editor and columnist, was shot to death as he drove to work last Wednesday morning. A number of his co-workers at Zeta, an independent weekly publication, have said they believe the shooting was a retribution from some figure Miranda had criticized in his satirical column.

The San Diego Press Club and Sigma Delta Chi said that,if these allegations are true, Miranda’s killing was a direct attack upon freedom of the press. Representatives of the two groups said they decided to offer the reward as an act of solidarity with Mexican journalists who continue to pursue that freedom.

More than 2 dozen journalists have been killed in Mexico over the last 16 years. Mexican journalists say that, so far, no killer has been brought to justice.