Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08GUADALAJARA611
2008-12-22 22:54:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Guadalajara
Cable title:  

THE LATEST TARGET IN MEXICO'S DRUG WARS: THE SINALOA PRESS

Tags:  SNAR KPAO KCRM PHUM MX 
pdf how-to read a cable
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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FM AMCONSUL GUADALAJARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1157
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 2341
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHGD/AMCONSUL GUADALAJARA 5213
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUADALAJARA 000611 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KPAO KCRM PHUM MX
SUBJECT: THE LATEST TARGET IN MEXICO'S DRUG WARS: THE SINALOA PRESS

REF: A) 07 MONTERREY 936, B) MONTERREY 390

GUADALAJAR 00000611 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUADALAJARA 000611

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KPAO KCRM PHUM MX
SUBJECT: THE LATEST TARGET IN MEXICO'S DRUG WARS: THE SINALOA PRESS

REF: A) 07 MONTERREY 936, B) MONTERREY 390

GUADALAJAR 00000611 001.2 OF 002



1. Summary: Increasing narco-violence has caused some Mexican
states to become virtual open war zones. The cartels, fighting
among themselves for control of territory and pressed by
President Felipe Calderon's counternarcotics campaign, have
resorted to blatant acts of violence - both in an effort to gain
control and as a means to fan popular discontent against the
government. Against this backdrop, media outlets have often been
caught in the middle. Either via direct coercion, or indirectly
through veiled challenges against their investigations, the
media have come under greater pressure to censure their
reporting. In one of the epicenters of drug violence, Sinaloa
state, a few courageous elements of the press continue to
support federal counternarcotics efforts despite considerable
risks to their lives and livelihoods. Post has made assistance
to these besieged journalists a key public diplomacy priority.
End Summary.

--------------
THE REALITY IN SINALOA
--------------


2. The drug war is playing out in different ways throughout the
country, but one of the more clear examples of how this pressure
can spill out against the media is most evident in the
northwestern state of Sinaloa. The capital city of Culiacan has
become one of the leading cities in the latest wave of violence.
Shoot-outs in broad daylight are common and there is a sense
that local authorities are either unable or unwilling (they
themselves being corrupted by cartels) to punish the guilty.
Nationally, cartel killings have numbered well over 5,000
through 2008, and in the state of Sinaloa alone there have been
over 1,000 deaths attributed to drug battles.

--------------
A MESSAGE TO THE MEDIA
--------------


3. Tied to this alarming trend has been a string of attacks
against media outlets in the city. On November 16, 2008, two
individuals with presumed connections to drug traffickers threw
fragment grenades at the leading daily newspaper El Debate. The
attack shattered windows, blew a hole in the floor and damaged
the metal gate at one of their main entrances. Since the attack
occurred at midnight, it was not done to kill people, but rather
to send a message. Just a few days before the grenade attacks,

a simulated severed human head had been left in a bag in their
staircase in another chilling effort to stop their reporting.

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DEFYING THE DRUG LORDS
--------------


4. El Debate and other media outlets have been leading voices
against the cartels and drug-related violence. Their editorials
calling for prosecution of criminals and their reporting on
organized crime and its connections to politically powerful
elements have made them a tempting target. As a result of
wanting to expose the hypocrisy and corruption of the drug war
(numerous high-level officials have recently fallen at the
federal level),the press in Sinaloa have found themselves
staring down the barrels of the guns of the drug lords who don't
want public exposure of their role in local corruption.
Nevertheless, the paper relentlessly continues to write about
the problem, recently publishing a principal editorial stating:
"Impunity is one of the major ills of the country in fighting
crime, and too thin the dividing line between police and
criminals, it becomes impossible to reduce crime," and has
continued to call for further reforms.


5. PDOff recently met with the directors of El Debate and other
leading newspapers to discuss the current situation in the
aftermath of these attacks. The owner of El Debate showed the
area where the attack occurred. While repairs to the windows
and walls were now completed a month after the attack, damage
could still be seen in the protective metal gate. The paper's
owner and managing editor reiterated their belief that this was
an attack by drug cartels, and had no faith in the local
authorities to capture or prosecute those responsible. (Note: to
date no one has been arrested or questioned regarding these
attacks). Working level reporters individually discussed their
own fears in covering drug-related crimes, and how even their
long-established contacts in the police department were not
reliable due to corruption. As a result, the local journalist
organizations were working with their members to ensure that
they could verify information via phone before traveling to a
location, triple checking sources, carrying extra cell phones
and traveling in pairs for added protection.

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A RISKY PROPOSITION
--------------

GUADALAJAR 00000611 002.2 OF 002




6. In spite of these threats, all media outlets vowed to
continue what they viewed as the public's right to know about
the drug war. In fact, during the visit by PDOff, a gun battle
in an upscale part of the city left five people dead in another
round of narco vendettas. But the press have continued to cover
these and other matters in the face of this increasing danger.


7. Various reporters discussed security options and a fear about
their own well-being. Media outlets have limited contingency
plans to protect their reporters and the reporters themselves
have taken to ad hoc means of attempting to cover stories while
remaining safe. This is not an easy task, as the NGO Reporters
without Borders in their 2008 annual report on Mexico called the
country "the most deadly in the Americas for journalists."

-------------- --------------
--------------
COMMENT: SHORING UP THE MEDIA IS A VITAL TASK
-------------- --------------
--------------


8. The media and its ability to influence public opinion will
play a key role in the eventual success or failure of President
Calderon's counternarcotics efforts. Exposure in the press is
often the only weapon available against corrupt or incompetent
public officials whose actions facilitate the work of the drug
cartels. Recognizing this, PAS Guadalajara is working closely
with the media in west-central Mexico to fortify its capacity to
withstand narco pressures. Post recently organized a conference
in Guadalajara with the Knight Foundation to help journalists
learn new tips for covering high-risk stories while remaining
safe, and plans to offer a similar conference in Sinaloa next
year. We will also continue to assist the press through
reporting tours, and opportunities to hear from high-level
policy makers. This vigorous public diplomacy campaign is
essential for maintaining popular support for the Merida
Initiative and preventing local media from sinking further into
a state of fear and self-censorship, which is exactly what the
cartels want.
RAMOTOWSKI