Two Mexican journalists shot dead in past 24 hours

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Two Mexican journalists were shot dead in less than 24 hours in western states, according to authorities, as the country faces a flare-up of violence in the region.

A Mexican journalist was shot dead in the western state of Colima on Wednesday afternoon, the state persecutor's office told Reuters.

Her name was Patricia Ramirez, also known by her nickname Paty Bunbury, and she worked as an entertainment reporter, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based rights group.

It was the second journalist shot dead in less than 24 hours in Mexico, ranked as one of the deadliest countries for journalists by press freedom groups, after the head of an online news outlet in Mexico was killed late on Tuesday.

The killings marked the first of a journalist under President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office at the beginning of this month and has pledged to combat violence and crime.

Mauricio Cruz was shot dead in the city of Uruapan, in the violence-plagued western state of Michoacan, according to the state prosecutor's office. Another person, who the prosecutor did not identify, was wounded in the shooting.

Uruapan is known for brazen crimes such as beheadings stemming from fighting between drugs cartels or face-offs with law enforcement.

Cruz's news outlet, MinutoXMinuto Michoacan, posted a tribute to the journalist on its Facebook page featuring his last live video recorded minutes before his death.

While the nation has been rocked by a wave of violence, Sheinbaum has followed the work of her predecessor and mentor, former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, stating that her government would not wage a new war on Mexico's drug cartels.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz and Raul Cortes; Writing by Aida Pelae-Fernandez; Editing by Alison Williams and Michael Perry)