A Mexican journalist who wrote about crime in the violent Gulf Coast state of Veracruz was found beheaded on Wednesday, local media reported, the latest grisly murder of a reporter in one of the world’s most dangerous nations for journalists.

The body of Julio Valdivia, 44, who specialised in the “nota roja” journalism that focuses on gruesome crime and violence, was found in the remote Tezonapa municipality, about 100km from the state capital, Veracruz...