Mexico: Laws to protect journalists improved

October 26th, 2010

Legislators in the state of Ciudad Juarez have voted to impose life sentences on the perpetrators of a wide-range of crimes, including murdering journalists. A life sentence for those who kill journalists will be applied only if the victim dies in the line of duty. 27 journalists have been slain in Ciudad Juarez since 2000, which represents more than a third of the nationwide total. This welcome move follows stalled efforts to increase legal protection of journalists at the federal level despite President Felipe Calderon’s assurance that it is high on his agenda.

Mexico’s narcomedia takes over

October 26th, 2010

Now the drug cartels make their own news, forcing video confessions of corruption, murder and collaboration at gunpoint. Ana Arana reports
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Mexico: News photographer shot dead

September 17th, 2010

A 21-year-old photographer for a newspaper in the crime-torn border city of Juárez, Mexico, was shot and killed, and an intern was wounded, in an attack 16 September. The victims worked for Diario de Juarez, a newspaper that has not stopped reporting on drug-gang violence. The journalists were driving to lunch when gunmen in two cars intercepted them and opened fire in broad daylight, newspaper director Pedro Torres said.  Santiago had only started working for the newspaper two weeks ago, and Sanchez is an intern, so it is unknown why they were targeted.