Grenade attack on newspaper that reports on drug trafficking
New York, August 24, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a grenade attack on the Mexican daily Por Esto!, the third attack since June on the Cancún-based newspaper that has investigated local drug trafficking and government corruption. Unidentified assailants driving an SUV with tinted windows lobbed two hand grenades shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday into…
Antigovernment protesters seize 12 private radio stations
New York, August 21, 2006—Protesters including striking school teachers in southern Mexico seized 12 private radio stations today after unidentified assailants shot up a government-owned station already under the demonstrators’ control. At least 50 protesters of the antigovernment group, Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO), simultaneously took over each of the stations in…
Arrest of a suspected mastermind in Ortiz Franco murder
New York, August 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today urged Mexican authorities to investigate the suspected involvement of Arturo Villarreal in the 2004 killing of a Tijuana newspaper editor. Villareal was picked up as part of a drug sweep by U.S. security services on August 14. A Mexican prosecutor last year identified Villarreal, who…
Gunmen attack university radio station
New York, July 24, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an attack by gunmen on a university radio station in Oaxaca, southeast Mexico, which has backed efforts to oust the local state governor. At least 10 men in ski masks sprayed bullets at Radio Universidad on the evening of July 22 as it was on…
In Mexico, reporter missing since Saturday
New York, July 11, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the fate of Mexican journalist Rafael Ortiz Martínez, who has been missing since Saturday morning. CPJ is investigating whether the disappearance is related to his work. Ortiz, a reporter for the Monclova-based daily Zócalo and host of the morning news program “Radio Zócalo”…
CPJ urges revival of probe into murder of Zeta editor
New York, June 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists urged Mexican authorities to revive a stalled investigation into the murder of Francisco Ortiz Franco, co-editor of the Tijuana-based weekly Zeta, who was gunned two years ago today. José Luis Vasconcelos, the leading prosecutor in the organized crime division of the federal Attorney General’s office, told…
Two measures approved in Mexico City to protect journalists
New York, April 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the approval of two measures by the Mexico City Legislative Assembly—one decriminalizing defamation, libel and slander, and the other enabling journalists to withhold the identity of confidential sources. “We’re gratified that the Mexico City assembly has adopted these measures, which represent important milestones in the…
In Mexico, two bills would protect journalists
New York, April 20, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists lauds the Mexican Chamber of Deputies’ passage on Tuesday of a bill that would eliminate criminal defamation, libel, and slander laws from federal statute books. CPJ also welcomes the chamber’s approval of a second measure that allows journalists to withhold from authorities information about sources.