Mexico City, May 6 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Mexican radio and print journalist Armando Saldaña Morales was found dead Monday in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca with apparent signs of torture, the state attorney general's office confirmed.

Saldaña's body was found with four bullet wounds in the skull along with signs of torture on his body. State Attorney General Joaquin Carrillo Ruiz said the motives behind the homicide of the journalist were unknown, but added that he had sent a specialized forensic team to the crime scene.

Saldaña went missing while he was returning home in the neighboring state of Veracruz, the same state where photo-journalist Moises Sanchez Cerezo was kidnapped and murdered in January. Saldaña worked in the news department of a local radio station, as well at a local newspaper, leading to suspicions that his assassination is linked with his work as a journalist.

Journalists in Mexico regularly face death threats from organized crime groups. There have also been reports of threats coming from people acting on behalf of politicians.

In August 2014, journalist Octavio Rojas Hernandez was shot four times and killed by an unknown assassin. His colleagues suspect that his homicide was tied to his work covering crime in the state.

According to the Mexican National Commission for Human Rights, between 2010 and 2015, 97 journalists in Mexico have been killed as a result of their work. A further 22 have been reported missing and 433 have filed official notices of threats against them.