Candida Cristal Vazquez, a former radio host who also worked in communications for the local police, was reported missing in late July. The mayor of Mazatlan on Mexico’s Pacific coast, Luis Guillermo Benitez, told reporters on Saturday that tests were pending to confirm that the body found Thursday was Vasquez, but “everything points to her.” A statement from the state’s attorney general on Friday said family members had identified the body as Vazquez, but that he could not yet confirm the body was hers without results from genetic tests she had done. Police found the body floating in a canal in Mazatlan. Mexican media have described Vazquez as a journalist. The Committee to Protect Journalists told Reuters it was still investigating whether she was a journalist and whether her death was motivated by her profession. 2022 is already the deadliest year on record for members of the Mexican press, with at least 18 journalists killed so far under Article 19. (Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle and Kylie Madry; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Daniel Wallis)
