As editorial director of El Siglo de Torreón he developed safety protocols for covering a wave of violence unleashed by organized crime groups in the city, which included armed attacks and kidnappings against the newspaper. He is recipient of the Dart Ochberg fellowship (2013). In 2014-15 he was a Knight Fellow at the International Center for Journalists focused on digital security and documenting attacks against the press in Mexico. Garza has a bachelor's degree in communications from the Universidad Iberoamericana and a master's in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. He has lectured on violence against the media at universities and press organizations in Mexico, the United States, Europe and South America and serves as an adviser on Newsroom Safety for the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).