This August, after publishing several articles in news outlet Artículo 7 that revealed alleged links between a businessman extradited to the US on drug trafficking charges and the Tamaulipas state government, woman journalist Shalma Castillo was subjected to death threats, various acts of online violence and harassment, and a smear campaign aimed at undermining her credibility and questioning her journalistic work.
According to organizations CIMAC and Article 19, on 13 August, Shalma published an investigative report titled “Tamaulipas government contractor among those extradited to the US for drug trafficking,” in which she revealed that the Ministry of Public Works had awarded contracts to a company linked to José Francisco Mendoza Gómez, “Yiyo” – one of 26 people extradited to the United States for drug trafficking in 2025. In the days that followed, she amplified the investigation with two additional articles that also implicated the state Secretary of Public Works, Pedro Cepeda Anaya.
After the articles were published, the woman journalist received several death threats on social media, including messages such as “your days are numbered”; she was the victim of doxing (the disclosure of personal data) with the illegal dissemination of her National Electoral Institute (INE) ID and her address; and she suffered a massive digital harassment attack, with hundreds of messages and calls that rendered her phone unusable, to the point that she was unable to contact emergency services to report the situation. Experts from the organization SocialTIC believe that it was a denial-of-service (DoS) attack on her phone line. At the same time, she faced a smear campaign and attempts to criminalize her, with various local media outlets trying to link her to the extradited drug trafficker who is the focus of her investigation.
These attacks went beyond the digital realm and turned physical when the woman journalist noticed that the security cameras at her house suddenly stopped working. This coincided with a group of people wearing vests from the political party that governs Tamaulipas hanging out outside her house, taking pictures, asking neighbors questions, and gathering information.
The National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Mexico and IM-Defensoras denounce these events and demand that the responsible authorities guarantee the woman journalist’s security.
We demand that the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE), with whom Shalma filed a complaint on 18 August, promptly investigate what happened in order to protect her and prevent such incidents from recurring.
We also urge the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, to which Shalma submitted a request to be included, to expedite the process and provide her with the necessary and appropriate protection as soon as possible.
We call on the international community to remain informed about the events, express solidarity with the woman journalist, and join the public demand for guarantees for her protection and for her ability to conduct her work.