Mexican journalist faces terrorism charge as authorities intensify legal attacks on press

Veteran Veracruz crime reporter Rafael León was seized on Christmas Eve 2025 by a heavily armed unit acting on instructions from public prosecutor Karla Díaz Hermosilla and charged with terrorism, a charge he argues was intended to silence his reporting on drug cartels. After a week of detention, a judge ruled on 30 December that the evidence did not support the terrorism accusation, leading to his release. León remains under investigation for alleged illegal enrichment and alleged cooperation with drug cartels, charges he believes lack substance.

His case is part of a record rise in SLAPP lawsuits against journalists, with 69 cases filed in 2025, three times the previous year, and recent legal changes making it easier to sue reporters. The climate of intimidation adds to an already severe wave of violence against the press, including twenty murders since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024.