A journalist remains missing after filming herself as at least three men broke into her home and abducted her at gunpoint.
Terrifying footage, recorded by Roxana Berenice Guzmán Ramírez, shows one of the masked men repeatedly striking the front door with a sledgehammer.
Roxana’s brother could be heard pleading with the trio to stop, warning them that there was a baby inside the house.
READ MORE: Driver leaps clear at last second as lorry plunges down mountainside
After forcing their way in, one of the men pointed a rifle at Roxana and her brother before seizing her phone.
The horror unfolded in Nanchital, in Mexico’s Veracruz state, on Tuesday morning (2 Jun), prompting authorities to launch a search operation.
At the time of the latest update, her whereabouts and the identities of her abductors remained unknown.
According to local media, Roxana’s then-husband, Carlos Fernández Escalante, was shot dead in front of her in Nanchital on 11 March 2017.
Fernández, known as “El Loco”, had been arrested in 2012 for possession of weapons reserved for the military and drugs.
In December 2015, after being released, he survived an attack in which he was shot at least three times.
Investigations into his death pointed to a possible revenge killing linked to old disputes, as reported by Need To Know.
At the time of his killing, he was working in commerce and helping his wife sell food and beauty products.
Before his death, Roxana worked at the news website Diario del Istmo, but left Veracruz after the killing for safety reasons.
Years later, she returned and founded the online outlet Pulso Informativo del Sureste, covering local social, political and security issues.
The page is followed by some 20,000 of Nanchital’s roughly 30,000 residents, and Roxana had planned to expand coverage further afield.
The last time Roxana filed a complaint was in 2019, when she alleged harassment by a local official in Nanchital to the Veracruz State Commission for the Attention and Protection of Journalists.
She had not recently warned loved ones of any danger.
Artur Romeu of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement: “The authorities must mobilise all available resources to determine her whereabouts, find her safe and alive, and identify those responsible.
“Given the nature of her reporting and the context in which she works, her recent journalistic activities must be considered a priority line of investigation.”
According to RSF, at least 28 journalists are currently missing in Mexico.
READ MORE: Wild bear mauls man and leaves four injured in city street rampage
