( CNN ) -- Three years after the killing of Mexican journalist Armando Rodriguez , his colleagues said they are more determined than ever to write about the nation 's drug cartels despite the risks . `` Those who ordered the killing of Armando were wrong because those who are left are more seasoned and we are working , '' said Luz del Carmen Sosa , a reporter for El Diario de Juarez newspaper who took over Rodriguez 's crime beat after his death . `` Those who believed we were going to take step back , they were wrong . '' On November 13 , 2008 , Rodriguez -- called `` El Choco '' by his colleagues because of his chocolate skin tone -- was about to take his two young daughters to school when a man approached the garage of his house and fired 11 shots into his chest . His daughters , one of whom witnessed the attack , have not spoken publicly since the incident and did not attend a memorial event for their father on Sunday . Rodriguez 's wife declined an interview request from CNN . His colleagues believe he was targeted because of his coverage of drug cartels in the border town of Ciudad Juarez . Before his death , Rodriguez was among the first journalists to write at length about the violent shift in the city . He was a high-profile reporter for the most-read paper in the city , covering a dangerous beat . It was a job his friends believe cost him his life . Local reporters now look at the killing as the first of many targeting journalists for their work . Since 2000 , 74 journalists have been killed in Mexico -- 14 since 2010 . On the third anniversary of his death , his newsroom colleagues gathered Sunday to pay tribute and `` remember Choco ... friend , journalist , family man and a great man , '' the paper 's editorial assistant Pedro Torres said at the public event . His colleagues criticized the investigation into his unsolved killing , saying it is an example of the hundreds of unsolved murders throughout the city -- widely considered to be one of the most violent in the world . Sandra Rodriguez Nieto , an El Diario reporter , said she believes that someone is `` hiding those responsible '' for Rodriguez 's death . It 's a charge prosecutors with the Chihuahua State Attorney General 's Office have denied . Early in the investigation they announced the detention of a suspect in the shooting , but never released details about who they held . The lack of information led to speculation among El Diario 's newspaper staff that there was a cover up . Making matters more complicated were attacks on the investigators working on the case . In July 2009 , a convoy carrying JosÃ© Ibarra LimÃ³n , the first federal prosecutor designated to Rodriguez 's case , was riddled with bullets by unknown assailants . The following August , Pasillas Paul Fong , the secretary of the Seventh Agency who would inherit the case , was executed . Days later , a third investigator took the case , only to flee Juarez soon afterward . `` This is a situation that hurts , an unacceptable situation , '' Torres said . Of the five publications in Juarez , El Diario de Juarez is the most popular paper in terms of circulation and has made a reputation for aggressively covering drug violence . In September 2010 , two of the paper 's photographers were attacked -- one was killed . A clear motive was never established , but investigators at the time did note the car carrying the two young journalists was registered to the son of the inspector of the State Human Rights Commission , Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson . Some believe the journalists were not the intended targets of the attack . On the same day friends and family buried the slain photographer , the newspaper published an open letter to the drug cartels operating in Juarez . The letter , written by the editorial staff , pleaded for an end to violence against journalists . No newspaper in Juarez had ever published an editorial directly addressed to the cartels ; and no other paper has done so since . `` You are , at present , the de facto authorities in this city , '' the letter said , `` because the legal institutions have not been able to keep our colleagues from dying . '' In the wake of Rodriguez 's death , del Carmen Sosa said she has no fear and was ready to take full responsibility for her work , even if it means death . She said she operates under the same mantra as her predecessor . `` Unlike Armando Luis Carlos ( Rodriquez ) , I 'm alive , '' del Carmen Sosa said . `` I try to be responsible with my journalism and I have no fear . '' In 2010 , she was presented with an award for her courageous reporting . `` I can only thank God every day ... because we need justice not only for Armando but for all the homicides in this city , '' she said .
Since 2000 , 74 journalists have been killed in Mexico -- 14 since 2010 . Mexican journalist Armando Rodriguez dies in 2008 . Comment: Other journalists pledge to continue to report about drug cartels .