A splash of color now interrupts the concrete at the San Ysidro border approach, where a new mural honors two journalists killed in Tijuana and keeps their cases in full public view. Unveiled on Saturday under the bridge, the work bears the names and portraits of photojournalist Margarito Martínez and reporter Lourdes Maldonado. Local reporters pooled their own money to fund the mural, and at the ceremony, family members, colleagues and artists said the goal is simple: make sure prosecutors feel those eyes on them as they pursue those responsible.
According to El Imparcial, the mural, created by local artist Mode Orozco and commissioned by the collective Yo Sí Soy Periodista, sits at Calle Segunda and the Paseo de los Héroes bridge so its faces can be seen by thousands of cross‑border travelers every day. Organizers describe the piece as both a tribute and a kind of public pressure campaign on authorities to keep chasing leads in the investigations. The unveiling brought out relatives, fellow journalists and community supporters who say they want the mural to function as a daily reminder that the cases are not closed in their eyes.
Martínez, 49, was shot and killed outside his home on Jan. 17, 2022, and Maldonado was fatally shot on Jan. 24, 2022. Two men have since been sentenced to 25 years in Martínez’s case, according to Infobae, and three defendants accepted plea deals that resulted in 20 to 24 year sentences for Maldonado’s killing, as reported by La Jornada. Family members and press freedom advocates say that even with those convictions, the people who allegedly ordered the murders have not been brought to justice.
Convictions, but the Masterminds Remain Free
For the families, the prison terms handed down so far have not resolved the central question of who paid for or ordered the attacks. In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Óscar Maldonado put it bluntly: "We still don’t know who gave the order." Press advocates say the cases fit a wider pattern in Mexico, where triggermen may end up behind bars while alleged intellectual authors are rarely identified or prosecuted. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented that impunity for crimes against reporters remains a chronic problem in the country, eroding public trust in official investigations.
Officials Pledge to Keep Investigating
Baja California attorney general María Elena Andrade Ramírez told reporters earlier this year that she has instructed prosecutors to continue proceedings aimed at arresting additional suspects, according to Punto Norte. Even so, relatives and the Yo Sí Soy Periodista collective that financed the mural say that until alleged intellectual authors are detained, justice will feel incomplete. They chose the heavily traveled border crossing for a reason, they explain, so that their demand stays visible to Tijuana residents and to the constant flow of people who pass under the bridge each day.
"Don't forget these faces," Sonia de Anda of Yo Sí Soy Periodista said at the unveiling, a line organizers hope will echo not just at the border crossing but also inside courtrooms as investigators continue to search for whoever ordered the attacks. For now, the mural stands as both a memorial to two slain journalists and a highly public call for accountability as the legal cases move forward.
