|
|
|
|
Attacked
January 28
José Barrón Rosales, Radio Huayacocotla, ATTACKED
Barrón, a reporter for Radio Huayacocotla, a radio station that serves indigenous communities in Texcatepec, Veracruz, was attacked by his neighbor Aquilino Mendoza. Mendoza insulted and threatened Barrón, accusing him of spreading rumors and false information about land issues on the radio station's broadcasts. He then fired a shot at Barrón, but missed, injuring Barrón's dog instead. Mendoza's wife intervened and prevented him from firing again. Citizens of the indigenous communities in the region reported the incident to the Public Ministry, the president of the Texcatepec Municipality and the state governor of Veracruz but no immediate action was taken. In a written response to CPJ's letter of protest to President Ernesto Zedillo regarding the lack of an investigation into the matter, the general prosecutor of Veracruz stated that Mendoza had been charged with attempted murder.
June 26
XEVA, ATTACKED
Sergio Sibilla, XEVA, HARASSED
XEVA, a popular radio station in the state of Tabasco, was taken over for two hours in the early morning by dozens of supporters of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). They accused the station and “Telereportaje,” the news program they interrupted, of using their programming to destabilize the state and incite violence. The PRI supporters took the microphone away from “Telereportaje” host Sergio Sibilla, and read political statements on the air. The takeover occurred a day after riots by PRI opponents disturbed a visit by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo to Tabasco. The rioters were protesting Zedillo's support for Tabasco's governor, a PRI member. During the previous 18 months, PRI supporters had occupied XEVA four times, accusing it of being a mouthpiece for the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).
August 13
Alberto Flores Casanova, El Mañana, ATTACKED
Flores Casanova, a reporter for the daily El Mañana in the city of Nuevo Laredo, near the Texas border, was attacked while driving to the newspaper's offices just after midnight. Two unidentified men stopped Flores Casanova at an intersection about two blocks from the newspaper. One of the men pointed a handgun at Flores Casanova, who managed to push it away as it went off. A shot hit the vehicle's dashboard, and bullet fragments lodged in Flores Casanova's right leg. The motive for the attack is unknown. Flores Casanova has written critically about the government of the state of Tamaulipas. CPJ wrote a letter to Mexican authorities urging them to pursue an investigation.
September 17
Razhy González Rodríguez, Contrapunto, IMPRISONED, THREATENED, ATTACKED
González Rodríguez, director of the Oaxaca-based regional weekly magazine Contrapunto, was abducted in Oaxaca City at 11 p.m. González Rodríguez was walking along Bustamante Street in the center of Oaxaca with a friend, Pilar Monterubio, when two armed men, wearing black hoods and carrying handguns, forced González Rodríguez into the back of an automobile and waved a pistol at Monterubio, signaling her to leave. Two other men were in the front of the car, and after González Rodríguez was in the car, they sped off, driving against traffic on a one-way street. Their car was followed by a man on a motorcycle. González Rodríguez was taken to an undisclosed location, gagged, blindfolded, and bound with handcuffs to a chair for 44 hours. He was mentally and physically tortured, his life and the lives of his family were threatened, and he was accused of being a collaborator with the Ejercito Popular Revolucionario (EPR), a terrorist guerrilla army that has recently emerged in Southern Mexico. González Rodríguez, who was one of a group of journalists to interview EPR representatives in Oaxaca on Sept. 13, was interrogated about his reporting on the EPR's activities. He believes his interrogators were members of the federal police force because they released him only after he agreed to notify authorities if he received any more information from the EPR.
For more information contact americasweb@cpj.org