Press violence in Mexico skyrockets under current administration -report

FILE PHOTO: A person holds a picture of Mexican journalist Lourdes Maldonado who was killed in the northern border city of Tijuana, as people attend a vigil to protest against the killing of journalists in past days, outside the Secretariat of the Interior in Mexico City, Mexico, January 25, 2022. Picture taken January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Romero

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Violence against the press in Mexico rose to unprecedented levels in the first half of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration, up 85% from the first half of his predecessor's term, according to a report published on Tuesday.

The report comes as Mexico faces a streak of journalist killings that has drawn criticism from local media and U.S. lawmakers alike, while Lopez Obrador regularly uses his press conferences to single out reporters.