Reporters Under New Stress in Mexico’s Northern Border State of Tamaulipas Lorne Matalon - Marfa Public Radio
go to original July 25, 2017

Mexican journalist Paco Rojas in a recording studio (Lorne Matalon)

The year 2016 was one of the most deadly in recent history for Mexican reporters. Most press groups count at least nine killed, some as many 16. Reporters Without Borders annual report documents that Mexico was the third most dangerous country in the world for journalists after Syria and Afghanistan.

That said, what is happening right now to reporters in Reynosa, a city that borders Texas, is unusually difficult. In late April, Mexican marines killed the leader of a major organized crime group there setting off a wave of crime that reporters are struggling to chronicle without being threatened or killed.

Even before that take-down and its immediate aftermath, Reynosa had never been an easy place to be a journalist. The sprawling factory town sits across the Rio Grande from McAllen, Texas. It has often been a staging ground for turf battles within organized crime where civilians become collateral damage and where journalists like Paco Rojas are often threatened.

"We are living in the middle of that war. It's like war out here,” Rojas said. He said the public wants to know what is going on.

... Rojas said he is now taking self-censorship to new levels. Until recently he would at least hint at which group was allegedly involved in a crime, which unit of police or military were sent to investigate. The government of Tamaulipas has pledged to protect journalists but Rojas is not waiting. He is using different routes and keeping his hands visible while out reporting. He explained that if his hands are visible, criminals and the scouts they employ on the streets are less likely to become suspicious.

In response to the situation, the state has closed or raided casinos and bars, places where organized crime launders cash.

Read the rest at KPBS

Related: Mexican Journalist Threatened in Michoacán State (Committee to Protect Journalists)

Related: New Report Reveals Independent Digital Media Sector in Latin America Growing But Under Attack (Omidyar Network)

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