Committee to Protect Journalists: The body of Veracruz radio journalist Armando Saldaña Morales was found on Monday in the neighboring Mexican state of Oaxaca, according to the Oaxaca state attorney general's office and news reports. The journalist had been shot dead, the reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder and calls on authorities to identify the motive in the killing and ensure the perpetrators are held to account.
"Journalists have paid a high price for reporting the news in Mexico-they are routinely murdered or disappeared with total impunity," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas, from New York. "Federal authorities must fully investigate this crime, look deeply into Armando Saldaña Morales' reporting as a possible motive, and bring those responsible to justice." Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label Committee to Protect Journalists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Committee to Protect Journalists. Show all posts
Jul 19, 2013
Journalist found slain in Mexican state of Oaxaca
LA Times
By Richard Fausset and Cecilia Sanchez
July 17, 2013
A journalist who covered the police beat in the Mexican state of Oaxaca was found dead Wednesday, reportedly with gunshot wounds.
It was unclear whether Alberto Lopez Bello was attacked in retaliation for his work for El Imparcial, a newspaper in the city of Oaxaca, the state capital. The paper published a brief statement Wednesday demanding a thorough investigation and saying the killing “demonstrates the vulnerability to which communicators are exposed in their daily work of providing truthful and timely information to the citizenry.” [link in Spanish]
The Oaxacan state government said that Lopez's body was found along with the corpse of another man in Trinidad de Viguera, a city north of the Oaxacan capital. The news website Milenio reported that Lopez suffered gunshot wounds. Read more.
By Richard Fausset and Cecilia Sanchez
July 17, 2013
A journalist who covered the police beat in the Mexican state of Oaxaca was found dead Wednesday, reportedly with gunshot wounds.
It was unclear whether Alberto Lopez Bello was attacked in retaliation for his work for El Imparcial, a newspaper in the city of Oaxaca, the state capital. The paper published a brief statement Wednesday demanding a thorough investigation and saying the killing “demonstrates the vulnerability to which communicators are exposed in their daily work of providing truthful and timely information to the citizenry.” [link in Spanish]
The Oaxacan state government said that Lopez's body was found along with the corpse of another man in Trinidad de Viguera, a city north of the Oaxacan capital. The news website Milenio reported that Lopez suffered gunshot wounds. Read more.
Apr 29, 2013
Mexican journalists, rights groups march against attacks in which scores have been slain
The Huffington Post
By Associated Press
April 28, 2013
XALAPA, Mexico — Officials in Veracruz state say they know who killed Regina Martinez. The muckraking reporter, found beaten and suffocated in her house, was just the victim of a robbery, according to prosecutors and a local court.
But many of her colleagues don’t believe it. The man convicted of the crime was tortured into a confession, they allege. And the magazine she works for says state officials discussed sending police across the country in an attempt to hunt down and seize another reporter who raised questions about the death, which is one of a growing list of killings that have put Mexico among the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.
Some 400 people gathered Sunday in the center of Veracruz’s state capital, Xalapa, for a march to demand justice in the Martinez case and an end to attacks on the press. Many held up posters suggesting the government had a hand in the case, some describing it as “a state killing.” Dozens also protested in Mexico City.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a February report that 12 Mexican journalists went missing in 2006-2012 and 14 were killed because of their work. Mexico’s federal Human Rights Commission lists 81 journalists killed since 2000. Read more.
By Associated Press
April 28, 2013
XALAPA, Mexico — Officials in Veracruz state say they know who killed Regina Martinez. The muckraking reporter, found beaten and suffocated in her house, was just the victim of a robbery, according to prosecutors and a local court.
But many of her colleagues don’t believe it. The man convicted of the crime was tortured into a confession, they allege. And the magazine she works for says state officials discussed sending police across the country in an attempt to hunt down and seize another reporter who raised questions about the death, which is one of a growing list of killings that have put Mexico among the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.
Some 400 people gathered Sunday in the center of Veracruz’s state capital, Xalapa, for a march to demand justice in the Martinez case and an end to attacks on the press. Many held up posters suggesting the government had a hand in the case, some describing it as “a state killing.” Dozens also protested in Mexico City.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a February report that 12 Mexican journalists went missing in 2006-2012 and 14 were killed because of their work. Mexico’s federal Human Rights Commission lists 81 journalists killed since 2000. Read more.
Full investigation needed in Mexican journalist's murder
Committee to Protect Journalists
Mexico City, April 25, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists joins journalists with the Mexican daily Vanguardia in calling on authorities to launch an efficient and thorough investigation into the murder of photographer Daniel Martínez Balzaldúa.
Martínez's body was found with that of a friend, Julián Zamora Garcia, early Wednesday morning on a street in Saltillo, Vanguardía reported. He had last been seen by his colleagues at the daily's offices around 3 p.m. Tuesday before he left to cover an event. He never arrived.
Martínez, 22, had worked for Vanguardia for only a month and had been assigned to the daily's society section, which is an entry-level position, according to Ricardo Mendoza, the paper's editorial director. Another editor at Vanguardia, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told CPJ that the climate of fear in Coahuila state prevented the newspaper from doing any investigation in stories with links to organized crime. Photographers covering the society section in Mexico have been targeted by organized crime groups in the past for inadvertently capturing images of cartel members, according to CPJ research. Read more.
Mexico City, April 25, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists joins journalists with the Mexican daily Vanguardia in calling on authorities to launch an efficient and thorough investigation into the murder of photographer Daniel Martínez Balzaldúa.
Martínez's body was found with that of a friend, Julián Zamora Garcia, early Wednesday morning on a street in Saltillo, Vanguardía reported. He had last been seen by his colleagues at the daily's offices around 3 p.m. Tuesday before he left to cover an event. He never arrived.
Martínez, 22, had worked for Vanguardia for only a month and had been assigned to the daily's society section, which is an entry-level position, according to Ricardo Mendoza, the paper's editorial director. Another editor at Vanguardia, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told CPJ that the climate of fear in Coahuila state prevented the newspaper from doing any investigation in stories with links to organized crime. Photographers covering the society section in Mexico have been targeted by organized crime groups in the past for inadvertently capturing images of cartel members, according to CPJ research. Read more.
Jan 14, 2013
Twitter: The Safest Place for Citizen Journalists in Mexico
Mashable: Fran Berkman
A cohort of Twitter users with fake names and profile pictures have become a trusted source of information regarding drug cartel violence in Mexico.
These citizen journalists choose to remain anonymous to avoid violent backlash from gang members, but their reports have become increasingly influential.
On Jan. 8, a team from Microsoft Research published a paper called "The New War Correspondents: The Rise of Civic Media Curation in Urban Warfare," which details a social media study conducted over the past two years. Their main finding was that as Mexicans increasingly turn to Twitter for reports of violence, a core of mostly anonymous yet trusted curators have led the dissemination of public safety information.
"You find this small cluster of people, whom we call curators, who tend to be really well-regarded in their cities," Andrés Monroy-Hernández, one of the paper's five co-authors, tells Mashable. "These particular curators are those that have a lot of followers, which means that they're somewhat trusted by the community."
In the paper, the authors discuss how difficult it was to contact and interview the curators, who feel the work puts their lives in danger. Read more.
Nov 16, 2012
Journalist shot dead on assignment in Mexico
Committee to Protect Journalists Mexico City, November 15, 2012--A freelance journalist and his companion were shot to death Wednesday in the central Mexican state of Puebla shortly after the reporter had gathered information on a large-scale gasoline theft and then witnessed a stand-off between soldiers and gunmen, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.
"In many areas of Mexico, reporters put their lives at risk every time they go out on assignment. These brazen murders are yet another example of the violent and lawless conditions in which journalists work," Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas, said from New York. "Mexican authorities must fully investigate these murders and bring those responsible to justice."
News reports and local journalists identified the slain journalist as Adrián Silva Moreno, who covered the local police beat for several small newspapers. Eloísa Rodríguez Zamora, a local radio reporter, said Silva had been covering an army investigation into the theft of gasoline from a government petroleum company in the town of Tehuacán. Theft of gasoline from government pipelines is common in the area, which is controlled by organized crime groups, according to local journalists. Read more.
"In many areas of Mexico, reporters put their lives at risk every time they go out on assignment. These brazen murders are yet another example of the violent and lawless conditions in which journalists work," Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas, said from New York. "Mexican authorities must fully investigate these murders and bring those responsible to justice."
News reports and local journalists identified the slain journalist as Adrián Silva Moreno, who covered the local police beat for several small newspapers. Eloísa Rodríguez Zamora, a local radio reporter, said Silva had been covering an army investigation into the theft of gasoline from a government petroleum company in the town of Tehuacán. Theft of gasoline from government pipelines is common in the area, which is controlled by organized crime groups, according to local journalists. Read more.
Nov 9, 2012
Shaky Case Against Suspect in Mexican Journalist's Murder Raises Suspicions
InSightCrime, Written by Geoffrey Ramsey Friday, 09 November 2012
The arrest of a man accused of the murder of a journalist investigating crime and corruption in Veracruz raises more questions than answers, pointing to the failures of law enforcement and power of criminal groups in the Mexican state.
On October 30, Veracruz's attorney general announced that police had arrested Jorge Antonio Hernandez Silva, alias "El Silva," on suspicion of involvement in the April murder of journalist Regina Martinez Perez. The official said that the suspect had confessed to helping another person commit the crime. The man who physically carried out the murder, according to authorities, is Jose Adrian Hernandez Dominguez, alias "El Jarocho," allegedly Martinez's romantic partner, who remains at large.
Yet as El Proceso reports, there is reason to doubt Silva's involvement in Martinez's murder. The day after his supposed "confession," the suspect said he had been coerced into admitting guilt by police who tortured him and threatened to kill his mother. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes that without the confession, there appears to be little proof of Silva's involvement, as prosecutors have made no mention of eyewitness, DNA or fingerprint evidence linking him to the scene of the crime. Nevertheless, authorities ordered Silva to be held in pre-trial detention on November 2. Read more.
The arrest of a man accused of the murder of a journalist investigating crime and corruption in Veracruz raises more questions than answers, pointing to the failures of law enforcement and power of criminal groups in the Mexican state.
On October 30, Veracruz's attorney general announced that police had arrested Jorge Antonio Hernandez Silva, alias "El Silva," on suspicion of involvement in the April murder of journalist Regina Martinez Perez. The official said that the suspect had confessed to helping another person commit the crime. The man who physically carried out the murder, according to authorities, is Jose Adrian Hernandez Dominguez, alias "El Jarocho," allegedly Martinez's romantic partner, who remains at large.
Yet as El Proceso reports, there is reason to doubt Silva's involvement in Martinez's murder. The day after his supposed "confession," the suspect said he had been coerced into admitting guilt by police who tortured him and threatened to kill his mother. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes that without the confession, there appears to be little proof of Silva's involvement, as prosecutors have made no mention of eyewitness, DNA or fingerprint evidence linking him to the scene of the crime. Nevertheless, authorities ordered Silva to be held in pre-trial detention on November 2. Read more.
Nov 6, 2012
Mexican journalists question truth of murder trial
The Guardian It is very rare for anyone in Mexico to be arrested for murdering a journalist, let alone appear before a court. So the trial in Veracruz of a man charged with killing Regina Martínez Pérez should be a reason to celebrate.
But, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), it looks as if the state "is fabricating a murder case against the wrong people."
Citing unnamed "federal officials" as its source, the report says that the man who originally confessed to the murder, Jorge Hernández Silva, has since retracted his confession, claiming that he had been tortured while his mother was also threatened with death if he did not confess. Read more.
But, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), it looks as if the state "is fabricating a murder case against the wrong people."
Citing unnamed "federal officials" as its source, the report says that the man who originally confessed to the murder, Jorge Hernández Silva, has since retracted his confession, claiming that he had been tortured while his mother was also threatened with death if he did not confess. Read more.
Oct 15, 2012
Mexico's drug cartels target journalists in brutal killing spree
The Guardian, Ed Vulliamy
He shakes as he speaks and at moments his eyes fill. "It's certain that the people who killed my colleague were criminals," he says. "The killing had the modus operandi of organised crime. But who sent them and why? That's the question, that's the smokescreen."
This is a colleague of Víctor Manuel Báez Chino, whose mutilated body was found in June in the main square of Xalapa, capital of the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz. Báez was the state's crime editor for an online edition of the national newspaper Milenio and editor of the Police Report website (currently down) which covered crime.
In August, state prosecutors declared the case closed. Witnesses, they said, had identified the bodies of two men killed in a shootout as the same people who had kidnapped the reporter. Báez's circles were "entirely unconvinced", says his colleague.
Báez is one of 56 journalists killed during Mexico's drug war since 2006 (a figure calculated by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists). The war reached a climax last week with the killing by Mexican marines of the leader of the wildest – albeit not the biggest – narco cartel: the paramilitary Zetas, which counts Veracruz, with its strategically crucial gulf port, among its strongholds. Read more.
He shakes as he speaks and at moments his eyes fill. "It's certain that the people who killed my colleague were criminals," he says. "The killing had the modus operandi of organised crime. But who sent them and why? That's the question, that's the smokescreen."
This is a colleague of Víctor Manuel Báez Chino, whose mutilated body was found in June in the main square of Xalapa, capital of the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz. Báez was the state's crime editor for an online edition of the national newspaper Milenio and editor of the Police Report website (currently down) which covered crime.
In August, state prosecutors declared the case closed. Witnesses, they said, had identified the bodies of two men killed in a shootout as the same people who had kidnapped the reporter. Báez's circles were "entirely unconvinced", says his colleague.
Báez is one of 56 journalists killed during Mexico's drug war since 2006 (a figure calculated by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists). The war reached a climax last week with the killing by Mexican marines of the leader of the wildest – albeit not the biggest – narco cartel: the paramilitary Zetas, which counts Veracruz, with its strategically crucial gulf port, among its strongholds. Read more.
Oct 12, 2012
Is Mexico's drug violence scaring off the next generation of journalists?
CS Monitor: Drug violence has made Mexico a dangerous place to be a reporter, and it is affecting journalism schools that now struggle to keep their doors open and train aspiring journalists.
By Sara Miller Llana, Oct. 11.
MEXICO CITY. Grenades have exploded in newspaper offices. Reporters have been kidnapped and murdered, sometimes dismembered and stuffed into garbage bags. Several journalists have fled Mexico for their safety.
It’s not exactly a selling atmosphere for Mexican journalists, especially those in school who could opt to study business or technology instead of a craft that has become one of the most dangerous in the world when practiced in Mexico. Read more.
By Sara Miller Llana, Oct. 11.
MEXICO CITY. Grenades have exploded in newspaper offices. Reporters have been kidnapped and murdered, sometimes dismembered and stuffed into garbage bags. Several journalists have fled Mexico for their safety.
It’s not exactly a selling atmosphere for Mexican journalists, especially those in school who could opt to study business or technology instead of a craft that has become one of the most dangerous in the world when practiced in Mexico. Read more.
Jul 12, 2012
Attacks on Mexico Papers Underline Peril to Journalists
NY Times: MEXICO CITY — Two newspapers in northern Mexico have come under attack by gunfire and grenades this week, in what both called an effort to silence reporting on criminal groups.
The attacks, which damaged the offices but caused no injuries, occurred Tuesday, part of a spiral of violence against journalists that has made Mexico, in the throes of a drug war, the most dangerous place in the hemisphere for the news media.
Two offices of El Norte, a Monterrey-based newspaper owned by the largest print media company in Mexico, Grupo Reforma, were attacked with grenades and automatic-weapon fire, the latest of several assaults on news media offices in Mexico in the last few years. Read more.
The attacks, which damaged the offices but caused no injuries, occurred Tuesday, part of a spiral of violence against journalists that has made Mexico, in the throes of a drug war, the most dangerous place in the hemisphere for the news media.
Two offices of El Norte, a Monterrey-based newspaper owned by the largest print media company in Mexico, Grupo Reforma, were attacked with grenades and automatic-weapon fire, the latest of several assaults on news media offices in Mexico in the last few years. Read more.
Jun 23, 2012
Killings Curb Reporting of Mexican Crime Wave
NYT: XALAPA, MEXICO -- Mexico for several years has been one of the most dangerous countries in
the world for journalists, with 45 killed or missing since 2007, according to one tally. But Veracruz State is considered the most dangerous
patch of all in which to report the news. The violence here has gone
off the charts, with at least nine journalists killed in the past year
and a half.
Veracruz, with prime drug and migrant trafficking routes crisscrossing
the state, plus a busy port on the Gulf of Mexico known for smuggling
contraband, has erupted into a battleground, as two of the most powerful
organized crime groups, the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel, fight for
dominance.
Read moreMar 28, 2012
Journalists Urge Mexico to Investigate Attacks on Media
Fox News Latino The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement Tuesday condemning recent attacks on a newspaper and television station in Mexico and demanding prosecution of the perpetrators. Both incidents took place in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, a battleground for warring drug cartels.
The first attack took place March 19, when a car bomb exploded outside the offices of Expreso newspaper in Ciudad Victoria, leaving five passersby injured.
Two days ago, an unidentified assailant hurled a grenade at the Televisa television studios in Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas. Read more
The first attack took place March 19, when a car bomb exploded outside the offices of Expreso newspaper in Ciudad Victoria, leaving five passersby injured.
Two days ago, an unidentified assailant hurled a grenade at the Televisa television studios in Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas. Read more
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