A group of men claiming to represent Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel have posted a video online threatening to kill a national television news presenter.

The video shows six men wearing masks and holding guns, surrounding another masked man sat at a small desk who gave a message he said was from Oseguera Cervantes, aka El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel.

It was unclear if the person reading the message was Mr Oseguera himself.

The message complained that Milenio Television, a national cable news channel associated with a major newspaper chain, was favouring so-called self-defence groups that are battling the cartel in Michoacan state, Mexico.

He threatened to kill Milenio presenter Azucena Uresti over the issue.

The man claimed the vigilante groups were drug traffickers saying they are the only criminal organisations that could afford the military equipment those forces had at their disposal.

The message mentioned Hipolito Mora, who organised a self-defence force in Michoacan nearly a decade earlier, but who more recently has distanced himself from such groups, as well as Los Viagras, a criminal group operating in the state.

The Jalisco cartel representative said in the message that he did not want to inhibit freedom of expression but wanted news coverage to be even.

Ante las amenazas a medios de comunicación por parte del CJNG, el @GobiernoMX tomará medidas pertinentes para proteger a periodistas y medios de comunicación amenazados. Las libertades democráticas están garantizadas junto con el derecho a la información para los ciudadanos. pic.twitter.com/PgWuOKDp24

In a statement, Milenio Television said Ms Uresti had its total support and demanded a rapid investigation that guaranteed her safety.

It also denied that it had ever favoured any group in its coverage.

Presidential spokesman Jesus Ramirez Cuevas said via Twitter that the Mexican government “will take the necessary measures to protect threatened journalists and news outlets”.

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