 The murder of Buendía , alongside the killing of other journalists in Mexico that year , sent a chilling message to newspapers across the country . " The bullets that killed Manuel Buendia ... were not directed at one man but at freedom of expression , " said Excelsior 's front page read on the day after the killing . The killing was immediately condemned by the administration of President Miguel de la Madrid , who promised to bring the perpetrators to justice through a thorough investigation . However , the investigation dragged for over five years with no arrests and several inconsistencies , including the loss of evidence . On 11 June 1989 , Zorrilla Pérez himself was charged with planning the murder ; Juan Rafael Moro Ávila , also a DFS agent and great @-@ grandnephew of former President Manuel Ávila Camacho , was charged of being a co @-@ perpetrator with José Luis Ochoa Alonso ( alias El Chocorrol ) , who shot Buendía at point @-@ blank . Another hypothesis was that Moro was only responsible for driving the motorcycle used by the real assassin , Juan Arévalo Gardoqui , then Secretariat of National Defense , to escape . Three other DFS agents were also arrested : Juventino Prado Hurtado , Raúl Pérez Carmona and Sofía Naya . At least two main suspects , José Luis Ochoa Alonso and Juan Arévalo Gardoqui , were reported murdered in unclear circumstances before being formally charged . 
