Pubdate: Wed, 13 Jun 2007
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2007 The Arizona Republic
Contact:  http://www.arizonarepublic.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24

DON'T LET CARTELS WIN WAR

After Iraq, the most dangerous place in the world for news reporters 
last year was Mexico, according to the watchdog group Reporters 
Without Borders.

And among the most dangerous places in Mexico for reporters? Mexican 
cities and towns flush up against the Arizona border.

Several weeks ago, we threw a spotlight on the dangers facing Mexican 
authorities as they battle the increasingly violent and increasingly 
well-armed drug cartels in their midst. But the war does not end with 
those in uniform.

As The Arizona Republic's Chris Hawley and Sean Holstege reported on 
June 8, the Fourth Estate is under siege in Mexico, too. And, in many 
respects, it is a battle the cartels appear to be winning.

Hawley and Holstege found at least 30 incidents of outright attacks, 
threats and other efforts to silence Mexican journalists, including 
one in which two hand grenades exploded in April outside the doors of 
Cambio Sonora, a newspaper owned by one of Mexico's largest chains, 
Oranizacion Editorial Mexicana. The chain has shut down the Sonoran 
newspaper as a result.

Reporters are being kidnapped and killed. At the same time as the 
grenade attacks, reporter Saul Martinez of the Interdiario newspaper 
in Agua Prieta, which is immediately across the border from Douglas, 
was shot dead.

The mayhem is having its intended effect. Many newspapers that 
continue to publish are steering away from crime stories, especially 
stories involving the drug cartels.

The violence against newspapers has not erupted out of the blue. The 
government of President Felipe Calderon is fighting a determined war 
against the cartels, a war that previous Mexican administrations 
chose not to wage.

Ironically, the Mexican newspapers and electronic media now being 
swept up in the war have been enjoying unprecedented freedom from 
government interference in recent years. Indeed, that may be part of 
the reason the cartels are targeting them now. A bold, energetic and 
free press is often a primary target for the oppressive and the 
powerful, whether they be criminals or federal officials.

The violence against Mexican journalists may be part of a disturbing 
Latin American trend. The attacks come at the same time Venezuelan 
President Hugo Chavez shut down one of the largest privately run 
television stations in his country. Chavez has threatened the same 
fate for other media that fail to toe his line of fealty to the state.

It is not inconceivable that the violence will seep north into 
Arizona. The cartels are under siege not only from Calderon's 
federales but also from an unprecedented level of cooperation from 
police in this country. If the criminals continue to see success in 
silencing Mexican media, it may be a matter of time before they start 
trying to intimidate media in the U.S. as well.

The war against the drug cartels is not a Mexican war. It is spawned 
by the insatiable market for illegal drugs in the United States. And 
the growing armies of the cartels are armed with sophisticated 
weaponry, much of it purchased in the U.S.

The assault against Mexican journalists, part and parcel to the 
free-ranging drug war, is a U.S. fight too.

The cartels know what Venezuela's Chavez knows: Control the media and 
half the battle already is won.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman