Mexican daily Reforma reported that a distributor of newspaper El Norte, belonging to the same editorial group, was physically attacked and threatened by armed men in the early morning of Oct. 1 in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, located in the northern state of Nuevo León.
El Norte announced on Oct. 3 that the attack happened near the borders of the suburban municipalities of Guadalupe and San Nicolás de los Garza. In this area, a distributor that was transporting 800 copies of the newspaper in his vehicle was intercepted by three men riding in a truck.
According to Reforma, the aggressors hit the employee of the publishing company, robbed him of his money and identification and pointed a firearm at him while they took out the copies of the edition of El Norte that would be distributed in convenience stands in the city.
The publication also reported that one of the attackers told the distributor he would have to pay them 3,000 pesos (about $230) a day or else they would assassinate him.
In the story, highlighted by other Mexican news publications, the publishing group also made reference to other attacks that employees and offices have suffered in previous years, such as firearm and grenade attacks on its facilities, and the abduction of one of its distributors in Nuevo Laredo.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
