Journalist Hamurabi Huesca Shot Dead in Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca, While Waiting to Drive a Fare — Prosecutors Say the Gunmen Were After Local Crime Boss ‘El Darío,’ Who Also Died
Hamurabi Huesca Manzano, the founder and director of the local news outlet Pinotepa Comunica, was shot dead on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, in Santiago Pinotepa Nacional, on Oaxaca’s Costa Chica. Oaxaca’s state prosecutors (FGEO) say the attack was aimed at an alleged local crime boss known as “El Darío,” Milenio and El Universal reported. Huesca, who also drove a taxi, was waiting for him as a fare. Three men died, and no one had been arrested as of those reports.
What prosecutors say happened
According to the FGEO, as reported by Milenio, an armed group that prosecutors say they have already identified opened fire at a property at 13ª Sur and 9ª Poniente in the Planta y Porvenir neighborhood. Huesca was waiting in his vehicle to pick up a client. Prosecutors identified that client as Darío Armando S. A., “El Darío.” They described him as an alleged criminal leader and “one of the main generators of violence” on the coast. He was taken to a regional hospital and died hours later.
A third man, identified only by the initials O. F. M. M., died at the scene. El Universal said prosecutors pointed to “a dispute between local criminal cells” as one of the main motives. Neither outlet named the group, and prosecutors have not tied it to a specific cartel. Accounts of the injured differ. El Universal and El Informador reported that a woman was wounded and taken for medical care. Milenio said the Fiscalía put the final toll at three men killed. Milenio reported that whether the killing was linked to Huesca’s journalism was still under review.
Who Hamurabi Huesca was
El Universal said Pinotepa Comunica has more than 50,000 followers. 24 Horas gave his full name as Hamurabi Sinclair Huesca Manzano. It reported that the outlet’s staff wrote, “Today we don’t just lose our director general,” and that a funeral Mass was set for Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Santiago Apóstol parish. Local journalists condemned the killing and demanded that those responsible be punished and that reporters in the region be protected, El Universal reported.
It is the second killing of a journalist in Oaxaca in under three months. Francisco Alejandro Leyva Aguilar was shot dead on July 22 while eating breakfast at a food stand in San Pablo Etla, Milenio noted.
Sources
- Milenio (Ramón Bragaña and Álvaro Morales): “Asesinan al periodista Hamurabi Huesca en Oaxaca” (Oct. 9, 2026)
- El Universal (Juana García and Juan Carlos Zavala): “Asesinan a periodista en Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca” (Oct. 9, 2026)
- 24 Horas (Eduardo Alavez): “Asesinan al periodista Hamurabi Huesca Manzano en Oaxaca” (Oct. 10, 2026)
- El Informador: “Hamurabi Huesca: Matan a periodista independiente en Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca” (Oct. 9, 2026)
- Photos: scene photo credited “Especial,” via El Universal; AFP file photo via El Informador
Reported Oct. 10, 2026, from Mexican media accounts of the Oaxaca prosecutors’ statement. Prosecutors’ description of “El Darío” is an allegation, the motive is still under investigation, and no arrests had been reported.