Kidnapped Reporter Found Dead in Mexico

The burned remains of a missing journalist have been found in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan.

Salvador Adame was director of the local television station 6TV. He was kidnapped May 18 in the city of Nueva Italia, 400 kilometers west of Mexico City.

State officials said Monday the man’s remains were found in the middle of June. Officials identified the victim by genetic tests.

Seven journalists have been murdered in Mexico this year. Adame's kidnapping came three days after the murder of leading journalist Javier Valdez in Sinaloa state. He was pulled from his car and shot to death in the middle of the day near his office in the city of Culiacan.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says 40 reporters have been killed in Mexico for reasons linked to their work since 1992.

At least four of the reporters killed this year were murdered as direct punishment for their work, according to the CPJ. The group says Mexico is the most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere for media workers.

On Monday, federal prosecutors in Mexico said they would ask for help from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and other international groups. The prosecutors want assistance in investigating reports of high-tech spying against journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico.

I'm Caty Weaver.

Smita Nordwall wrote this report for VOANews.

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