3 Hired Killers Sentenced in Tijuana Journalist Lourdes Maldonado's Murder, Former Baja Governor Jaime Bonilla Denies Involvement

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Journalist Lourdes Maldonado was killed by a single gunshot days after securing a judgment for back pay from her former employer, former BC Governor Bonilla.

The three men convicted of murdering journalist Lourdes Maldonado received their prison terms late Wednesday afternoon. Erik Contreras and Kevin Villarino got 20-year sentences, while Guillermo Castro got 24 years. They agreed to a plea deal to avoid a trial and possibly longer prison sentences. The trio was also ordered to pay restitution and funeral expenses to Maldonado’s family totaling almost 500,000 pesos or about $25,000.

During the sentencing, Castro, Contreras, and Villarino were described as talking among themselves and even laughing out loud at times. They asked to be imprisoned at the La Mesa Penitentiary in Tijuana, to which the judge agreed. Before the incident, Villarino worked as a cook, Contreras was a taxi driver and Castro worked in construction.

On Jan. 23, 2022, Maldonado was murdered as she arrived home in her car; she was shot in the face once. According to court documents, Castro pulled the trigger. Images recorded by surveillance cameras were shown depicting the three men waiting for Maldonado in a taxi across the street from her house. Witnesses at the scene confirmed seeing the men in the cab waiting for Maldonado, and they reported seeing Castro walk up to her and shoot her once through the driver-side window before returning to the taxi, which drove away soon thereafter.

Former Baja California Governor, now Mexican Senator Jaime Bonilla.

Former Baja California Governor Denies Ties to the Murder

According to prosecutors, each received $5,000 to kill Maldonado. During the sentencing, there was no mention of a motive or who hired them to commit the murder. The former governor of Baja California has been named as a “person of interest” in the investigation into the murder.

Days before her death, Maldonado won a lawsuit for back wages against her ex-employer, former Baja California Gov. Jaime Bonilla, for whom she worked years ago at his media company. It is known that Maldonado accessed the Mechanism for the Protection of Journalists for almost a year due to threats that she would have received from envoys of the now-former governor, according to what she said at an ANPAC meeting.

On January 19, 2022, it was reported that PSN (Media Sport de México S.A. de C.V.) had been seized and that Bonilla Valdez had to pay her lost wages, benefits, and costs, which, according to the journalist, exceeded 500,000 pesos or around $25,000 USD.

In a news conference Thursday morning, state Attorney General Ricardo Iván Carpio Sánchez said his office is still looking for the people who ordered Maldonado’s murder, something many people, especially fellow journalists, have been demanding.

He confirmed that one person of interest is former Gov. Jaime Bonilla, who is now a senator in Mexico. “He is now a subject in the investigation,” Carpio Sánchez said. Days before her death, a court had ordered Bonilla to pay her thousands of dollars in back wages, something he said he would never do. Carpio Sánchez said the men involved in Maldonado’s killing are expected to cooperate further, and that they have already provided information.

Sources Border Report, Border Report, Borderland Beat