The murder ... came as a shock even in this city inured to drug-related violence. Ramirez, 50, who also worked as a correspondent for the Televisa TV network, was the most prominent of the more than two dozen reporters and editors slain nationwide since 2000. To his frightened colleagues, his murder confirmed a chilling fact: Mexico, in the grips of an escalating drug war, has become the world's second-deadliest country for journalists after Iraq.
"Of course we're scared," said Ricardo Castillo, news director for Acapulco's leading daily, El Sur. "He was the most visible of all of us, and his murder was meant to send a message."
The killing was intended as a show of force by traffickers waging a turf war for control of both the local market and the lucrative smuggling routes to the United States, said Castillo.
"More than an effort to silence the media, it's part of a strategy to instill terror," he said. "The assassination of a journalist isn't just any killing. It touches the basic fibers of society."
The danger appears to be rising.
Statistics vary among watchdog groups, but they agree that Mexico has surpassed Colombia, a country plagued by decades of guerrilla and drug violence, in the number of journalists killed each year.
Seven Mexican journalists were slain last year, according to a count by the Miami-based Inter American Press Association. The Paris-based Reporters without Borders tallied nine killings, and the Federation of Mexican Journalist Associations reported 11.
Three journalists were killed in Colombia last year, according to Reporters without Borders. The group counted 65 journalists and media assistants slain in Iraq over the past year.
"Of course we're scared," said Ricardo Castillo, news director for Acapulco's leading daily, El Sur. "He was the most visible of all of us, and his murder was meant to send a message."
The killing was intended as a show of force by traffickers waging a turf war for control of both the local market and the lucrative smuggling routes to the United States, said Castillo.
"More than an effort to silence the media, it's part of a strategy to instill terror," he said. "The assassination of a journalist isn't just any killing. It touches the basic fibers of society."
The danger appears to be rising.
Statistics vary among watchdog groups, but they agree that Mexico has surpassed Colombia, a country plagued by decades of guerrilla and drug violence, in the number of journalists killed each year.
Seven Mexican journalists were slain last year, according to a count by the Miami-based Inter American Press Association. The Paris-based Reporters without Borders tallied nine killings, and the Federation of Mexican Journalist Associations reported 11.
Three journalists were killed in Colombia last year, according to Reporters without Borders. The group counted 65 journalists and media assistants slain in Iraq over the past year.
~ more... ~
No comments:
Post a Comment