texas-moody

Media outlets in Mexico call on authorities to protect threatened journalists at Tijuana newspaper

A coalition of about 50 media outlets in Mexico published a statement calling on authorities to guarantee safety for journalists of the newspaper Seminario Zeta, which is published in the border city of Tijuana, and which recently has received threats from a criminal gang, reported the news agency EFE.

Adela Navarro Bello, editor of Seminario Zeta, published in her column that she had received a threatening telephone call on Wednesday, Feb. 22, from a man that identified himself as “El Melvin,” or Melvin Gutiérrez Quiroz, a known member of the Arellano Félix cartel.

This latest threat prompted the Observatory of Processes for Public Communication of Violence, an organization that consists of 715 media outlets in Mexico, to release a statement condemning the threats and demanding federal, state, and municipal authorities provide safety and protect the life and integrity of journalists. Faced with impunity, the Mexican media outlets said in the statement that the only thing left to do is make these criminal acts public.