Death of an activist: Unsolved murder exposes fraught outlook in Mexico

A neighbor of Cristina Vazquez, 58-year-old community organizer murdered in her apartment, holds a candle during a vigil to commemorate her death in Mexico City, Mexico. [Reuters]

Human rights activists in Mexico had already suffered a bad year by the time 58-year-old Cristina Vazquez was murdered in her apartment in an affluent Mexico City neighborhood at the end of June.

Vazquez was the 13th human rights defender in Mexico likely killed for her activism in 2019, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a tally almost surpassing its total for all 2018.