Javier Valdez Cárdenas was born on April 14, 1967, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico and died on May 15, 2017.

He was a Mexican journalist and founder of Ríodoce, a newspaper based in Sinaloa.

Cárdenas received several international awards for his writings on drug trafficking and organized crime in the Mexican Drug War.

Cárdenas graduated from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa with a degree in sociology.

During September 2009, Ríodoce published a series on drug trafficking entitled “Hitman: Confession of an Assassin in Ciudad Juárez.” However, one morning a few days after the conclusion of the series, a grenade was thrown into Ríodoce’s office, damaging the building but causing no injuries.

He was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen around noon, blocks away from the Ríodoce offices in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

Valdez Cárdenas passed away at 50 years old.