Luis Carlos Santiago

The worst of the violence tends to be concentrated in Mexico’s northern border around Juarez in the state of Chihuahua, where 3,100 people died just in 2010. Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, a trained lawyer, worked for the Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission in Cuidad Juarez and in the area human rights in Mexico for 40 years until he was threatened and went into exile across the border in El Paso. According to an NPR report, de la Rosa is investigating the military's role in striking out at ordinary citizens caught in the middle and believes the military was behind the threats that targeted him.

Santiago’s death prompted a strong international reaction.

The staff of El Diaro were at Santiago's funeral when they found out that a severed head was atop a car nearby. They went to investigate and found the head along with the editorial about Luis Carlos Santiago's death in El Diaro. The newspaper responded with a bold headline on the front page -- "What do you want from us?"—and an editorial in response.

Luis Carlos Santiago Orozco (March 1989 – 16 September 2010), a Mexican, was working as a photographer for the daily newspaper El Diario in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. He was an intern for El Diario and was about to be made a staff member at the time of his death. Santiago was the second El Diario journalist to be murdered in two years. His murder is considered to be part of the Mexican Drug War, although authorities dispute this point, and also involves human rights work.

Santiago was a trainee photographer, hired in May 2010 as an intern, and was about to be hired as a full-time employee on September 20. He wasn’t on duty at the time of his death. Santiago also worked as a DJ every once in a while.

In addition to the random acts of violence on its citizens, Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America for press freedom and one of the deadliest places in the world for journalists. Luis Carlos Santiago Orozco was the second El Diario journalist to be murdered in two years, following the death of José Armando Rodríguez Carreón, 40, who was shot dead on 13 November 2008. Reporters Without Borders notes that 68 media workers have been killed since 2008 in Mexico and 11 declared missing since 2003. As of 2010, the worst of the violence against journalists also tended to be concentrated in Mexico’s northern border. In particular, Chihuahua has seen a number of attacks. In 2010, 11 journalists were murdered in Mexico in the first nine months of the year.

Investigative Reporters & Editors released a statement that acknowledged El Diaro's continued role in reporting on crime when many newspapers have withheld information on account of concerns about safety. The statement said that Santiago was following in the tradition of Armando Rodríguez Carreón, who had been killed 13 November 2008 in Cuidad Juarez.

In December 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a strong crackdown on drug cartels across the country. As of January 2011, the Mexican government reported that 34,612 people have been killed in related violence. Deaths include members of drug cartels, security forces, police, journalists and innocent bystanders.