Where a Story Becomes Deadly: Gang Control Over Mexico's Media at All-Time High Alejandro Saldivar Chavez - Al Jazeera
go to original June 11, 2015

The dangers of being a journalist in Mexico (CCTV America)

Their deaths come quickly, or so it seems. There often isn't even a body left behind for loved ones to mourn over.

Their cases remain unsolved, the culprits free and their motives unclear. Many wonder aloud whether the Mexican authorities are really doing all that they can to investigate these crimes against journalists.

According to Reporters without Borders, 81 journalists have been killed in Mexico between January 2000 and September 2014. More than half of those cases remain unresolved. It is one of the most dangerous countries in which to practise the profession, with the states of Michoacan, Veracruz, Tamaulipas and Guerrero proving particularly treacherous.

"The situation in Michoacan is very simple: [it's about] self-censorship," explains Francisco Castellanos, a reporter with more than 45 years of experience.

In that state, four hours outside of Mexico City, local drug cartels have turned to public relations strategists to control the press.

When we arrived at the crime scene there were seven dismembered bodies with a letter Z painted on the forehead and a message that said: 'Greetings to the Familia Michoacana, regards Los Zetas.'

"When Los Zetas [the most notorious organized crime syndicate in Mexico] fought with the Familia Michoacana, the relationship with the media turned bloody," says Castellanos.

Read the rest at Al Jazeera

Photo: Alejandro S. Chavez/Al Jazeera

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