There are four possible states for someone in his profession.
1. Identity is secret. This is his ideal state.
2. Police know his identity, drug cartels do not. Not as good as #1, as he has to worry about corrupt police working with the cartels, or poor police security letting his identity out.
3. Police do not know his identity, but the drug cartels do. This is the worst possible case. The cartels can target him, and the police cannot help him.
4. Police and drug cartels both know his identity. Worse than #1 and #2, but better than #3, as he might get some help from the police.
If he had disappeared voluntarily (for instance, if he had gone on vacation), he would have told his colleagues. We can thus infer that he was probably taken by the drug cartels. That means he's in state #3 or #4. By making sure the police know his identity, his colleagues ensure he is in state #4, not #3, which is better for him.
The positive end game for him if he is found safely is moving away from Mexico (or at least from the drug cartel territories), assuming a new identity, and trying to live a normal life doing some job other than reporting on drug cartels. The moment he was taken both his pseudonym and real identity died--the only question now is if that also means the end of his life.
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There are four possible states for someone in his profession.
1. Identity is secret. This is his ideal state.
2. Police know his identity, drug cartels do not. Not as good as #1, as he has to worry about corrupt police working with the cartels, or poor police security letting his identity out.
3. Police do not know his identity, but the drug cartels do. This is the worst possible case. The cartels can target him, and the police cannot help him.
4. Police and drug cartels both know his identity. Worse than #1 and #2, but better than #3, as he might get some help from the police.
If he had disappeared voluntarily (for instance, if he had gone on vacation), he would have told his colleagues. We can thus infer that he was probably taken by the drug cartels. That means he's in state #3 or #4. By making sure the police know his identity, his colleagues ensure he is in state #4, not #3, which is better for him.
The positive end game for him if he is found safely is moving away from Mexico (or at least from the drug cartel territories), assuming a new identity, and trying to live a normal life doing some job other than reporting on drug cartels. The moment he was taken both his pseudonym and real identity died--the only question now is if that also means the end of his life.