Breitbart Cartel Reporter Dies in Mexico During Reported Swim in Pacific Ocean

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Breitbart News’ Gerry Aranda died in Mexico during a purported swim in the Pacific Ocean, the publication announced.

Witnesses said Aranda, a cartel reporter, was pulled out to sea as he was attempting to swim. Mexican authorities located his body in the ocean in Chiapas, Mexico, on Oct. 4. He was in the region investigating the Cartel Jalisco New Generation and one of its affiliates, Los Machetes. The groups are rivals to the Sinaloa Cartel.

Aranda obtained U.S. citizenship after migrating from Mexico to Texas in 2012, where he worked for Telemundo in San Antonio and in Lubbock. He also worked for Univision in Corpus Christi, and for KRGV-ABC in Rio Grande.

He began working as a journalist in his home country in 1997, when he took a job as a video journalist with Monterrey’s TV Aztec. He later worked for Reforma and for the El Norte newspaper. Breitbart noted that he was threatened during his career by the criminal elements he investigated, including Los Zetas leader Raul “El Tory” Luna Luna, who was convicted of a 2008 terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, Mexico.

He began writing for Breitbart under a pseudonym in 2016. His most recent work focused on a money-laundering scheme allegedly aimed at funneling cash into campaign accounts for Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel Alejandro Garcia Sepulveda.

“Gerry was a good friend and much of what our project has accomplished would not have been possible without him,” Breitbart’s Brandon Darby said in a statement. “He will be deeply missed by our team and everyone in both the U.S. and in Mexico have lost a very special voice in Gerry’s passing. He was determined to expose Mexico’s most powerful and evil groups regardless of the risks and his courage will not be forgotten.”

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