Javier Valdez Cárdenas

Javier Valdez Cárdenas (April 14, 1967 – May 15, 2017) was a Mexican journalist and founder of Ríodoce, a newspaper based in Sinaloa. He received several international awards for his writings on drug trafficking and organized crime in the Mexican Drug War.

On May 15, 2017, Valdez Cárdenas was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen around noon, blocks away from the Ríodoce offices in Culiacán, Sinaloa. He was 50 years old.