Four years have passed since Tijuana journalists Margarito Martínez and Lourdes Maldonado were killed in separate shootings outside their homes. Since then, their peers have not given up calling for justice.
To honor their late colleagues and highlight their work in Baja California, a group of journalists raised money to commission a mural in a busy area of Tijuana. They hope the mural, which is passed daily by thousands of people, will help keep their peers’ memory alive.
“(This mural) is from journalists to the authorities and the public,” said Tijuana journalist Sonia de Anda, a member of the #YoSíSoyPeriodista collective. “Don’t forget these faces.”
The mural by Tijuana artist Gerardo Orozco, better known as Mode Orozco, shows Martínez, a photojournalist known for covering the police beat, holding his camera, and veteran reporter Maldonado, who worked for years in local television.
Martínez, 49, was shot and killed outside his home while on his way to work on Jan. 17, 2022. Two men were sentenced to 25 years in prison for their roles in this case. A third defendant, whom prosecutors said ordered the killing at someone else’s behest, is awaiting trial.
Less than a week after the murder of Martínez, Maldonado was fatally shot outside her home. Three people were convicted and sentenced to between 20 and 24 years for the killing.
Still, those responsible for ordering the killings have not been arrested for either case.
On Saturday, journalists and family members of Martínez and Maldonado came together for a ceremony to formally unveil the mural. It is located in the Calle Segunda and Paseo de los Héroes bridge, next to the access point for the SENTRI and Fast Lanes at the Mexican side of the San Ysidro border crossing.
Mural Artist Gerardo “Mode” Orozco works on a mural dedicated to slain Tijuana photographer Margarito Martinez and Reporter Lourdes Maldonado called “The Truth Wall” located near San Diego’s Fast Lane to the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Saturday, February 7, 2026. Mode said through the work of this mural he seeks to show people the dedication of what some journalists sacrifice to bring the news to us and seeks justice through the artwork for both Martinez and Maldonado, who were gun down at their homes in 2022 for doing their work as journalists. (Carlos Moreno / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Baja California Attorney General’s Office said late last month that the investigations in both cases are ongoing.
“The State Attorney General, María Elena Andrade Ramírez, has instructed staff to continue with the necessary proceedings to arrest more suspects involved in these crimes against the press,” the office said in a Jan. 23 statement.
Rosa Martínez, Margarito’s sister, remembered him as someone who was always passionate about his work and an inspiration.
She said that she will continue to demand answers. “Tomorrow it could be another journalist,” she said. “Let’s do it for everyone.”
Prosecutors have said that Martínez’s murder was likely the result of an erroneous belief that he was responsible for information published in a weekly newspaper and on social media that exposed a criminal leader.
Óscar Maldonado, Lourdes’s brother, said he hopes her case won’t be forgotten. “We still don’t know who gave the order,” he said. “Three people are in jail, but we don’t know who sent them.”
He remembered his sister as a strong, independent woman who had a successful career.
In 2019, Maldonado attended a press conference in Mexico City and asked then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for help amid a labor dispute with a TV station owned by former Baja California Gov. Jaime Bonilla. Maldonado told the president that she even feared for her life. Bonilla has publicly denied being involved in the case.
Mexican officials also probed whether the fatal shooting was related to her denouncing drug dealers in her neighborhood.
Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila said last month that she did not think it was fair that charges had not been brought against others responsible for the slayings. She had been asked about the case by De Anda at a press conference.
She added that she has urged prosecutors to continue investigating to determine the reasons behind the homicides.
A mural in Tijuana by artist Gerardo “Mode” Orozco honors Lourdes Maldonado and Margarito Martínez, two journalists who were killed in separate shootings outside their homes in January 2022 (Alexandra Mendoza/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Orozco, who has painted several murals in San Diego and Tijuana, said his latest work honors two great journalists and highlights their profession. “They will remain here on this wall because they lost their lives searching for truth,” he said.
Orozco said he briefly met Martínez in late 2021 when he took photos of one of his murals. While he did not meet Maldonado personally, he said he grew up seeing her on the local news.