PGJE Confirms the Death of Michoacan Journalist Salvador Adame

MORELIA, Mich. (Apro) .- The Attorney General of the State (PGJE) confirmed the death of journalist Salvador Adame Pardo, whose remains were found on Friday 14 in the Barranca del Diablo, municipality of Gabriel Zamora.

After reproving and condemning the murder of Adame Pardo, the Attorney General's Office reported that the journalist's remains were found in a "state of calcination " (burned)  on Friday 14, during fieldwork and tracking.

The authorities detailed that they were in the place known as Barranca del Diablo, located on the road that leads from New Italy to Lombardy, passing the bridge of El Márquez, in the municipality of Gabriel Zamora.

Experts specialized in the matter preserved the remains and transferred them to Morelia to be delivered to the General Directorate of Expert Services, where the corresponding genetic analyzes would be done.

The agency said that these conclusions were added to others that the Attorney General has done since he became aware of the facts.

The possible motive of the act, according to this statement, was due to personal problems between the victim and  "El Chano" Ledezma. This could be related to messages identified on the journalist's phone with insults and confrontation. The authority said that these messages are a matter of investigation.

According to the declarant, the calcinated remains of the victim were abandoned in the Barranca del Diablo. The DNA of the body that authorities found on the site on Friday coincided with the genetic tests of the journalist.

The alleged kidnapper and homicide of journalist Salvador Adame Pardo could be part of the criminal group led by Miguel Ángel G.  "El Migueladas" , allegedly related to  "El Chano" Ledezma. He was accused by  "El Cabezas"  of being the material and intellectual author of the communication, according to an intelligence report.

"El Chano" Ledezma  was arrested on April 4, 2016 in Parácuaro, along with two people in possession of weapons and a fake police patrol. They were also secured six large caliber firearms, 46 chargers, more than 1,000 useful cartridges, cellular devices, radio and tactical equipment and cash.

The alleged responsibility in the crime of the murder of Journalist Salvador Adame was pointed out last May 24 in a Facebook publication of the group: "Nueva Italia PJNGI Migueladas" which states:

 "We launched an operation to find the whereabouts of journalist Salvador Adame Pardo, who was kidnapped by the PJNG and its leader."

The message pointed to Feliciano Ledezma," Melenas ", Pancho Tovar, "El Cukin" , "El Ruinas"  and " Los Chícharos"  as responsible.

Faced with this information, the PGJ confirmed "its commitment to continue the investigative  work in close coordination with the federal authorities, to achieve full clarification of these facts, to identify all the people who intervened and bring them to justice."

After confirming the finding of the body of Salvador Adame, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) demanded that the authorities "intensify investigations in a thorough and well documented way so that the mobile device, whatever it may be, corresponds to the evidence, and that there is no doubt, in order to avoid falling into a black hole, as long as there is no certainty of the facts and that the investigation allows us to arrive at the truth and, consequently, the corresponding responsibilities ".

In a statement, he expressed his condolences to the communicators' relatives, colleagues and friends and noted that with his homicide there were 128 journalists killed since 2000 to date. Of these, he said, eight have occurred so far in 2017, while there are 20 journalist disappeared and 51 more threatened at their workplaces.

The agency considered that "there is no justification for limiting the work of journalists, who must have all the guarantees that allow them to practice their profession without threats or aggression, since when there is an attack against a Journalist, such an attack extends to society and against democracy."

Cases such as that of Salvador Adame, he said, "put at risk the freedom of expression as an indispensable asset of democracy, for which society as a whole must reject violence and demand that cease attacks on journalists in the name of freedom of expression and that a fress press is a crucial ingredient to a successful democracy."

Finally, the CNDH said that they will observe the evolution of events and underlined his "commitment to the journalistic guild to demand that the authorities of the three orders of government create safe environments so that their information work unfolds without fears, ties, threats and retaliation".