[3] Rodríguez lived in Juarez with his wife Blanca Martínez and their children, including daughter Ximena Rodriguez, who was a witness to her father's murder, and a son.
[12] At the time of Rodríguez's murder, violence in Mexico was spreading across multiple sectors, with threats to educators and press becoming more common.
[11] Even though President Calderón waged a war against drug cartels, violence in the streets of Ciudad Juárez and throughout Mexico continued.
[12] The result though is that many Mexican newspapers and journalists have been intimidated into not reporting about crime, corruption and drug cartel violence and some have chosen exile.
Jorge Luis Aguirre was driving home from Rodríguez's when he received a threatening call that told him that he was next, and he chose exile in the United States.
[14] Rodríguez's colleague Luz Sosa wrote the story about his murder for the El Diario, and the BBC created a documentary about her continued effort to report on crime in Juárez.
The cold-blooded slaying of veteran crime reporter Armando Rodríguez highlights the long-recognized link between freedom of expression and rule of law.
"[16] Senator Shapleigh, who as a state senator in Texas represents El Paso, Texas, which is the sister city of Ciudad Juárez, said, "His murder is a brutal reminder of the increasing violence that has gripped our sister city and of the great courage it takes for media members like Rodriguez to cover this escalating war.