texas-moody

Gunmen fire on Mexican newsroom; none injured

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  • November 11, 2010

By Ingrid Bachmann

An armed group stormed the offices of El Sur newspaper in Acapulco (SW Mexico) Wednesday night,( Nov. 10). They fired inside the building, but none of the 8-12 employees present was harmed, EFE and La Jornada report.

The editor, Juan Angulo, tells Milenio that El Sur has had several conflicts with the governor of Guerrero state, Zeferino Torreblanca, and didn't rule out that the attack was an act of intimidation. Criticism of the governor has prompted state agencies to pull their ads.

Journalists and news media are frequent targets in Mexico's growing violence. This year, the newspapers El Debate and Noroeste, in Mazatlán, and Noticias de El Sol de la Laguna, in Torreón, suffered similar attacks, and TV stations have been attacked with grenades and car bombs. For more details, see this Knight Center map.

In recent weeks, the resort city of Acapulco has become a site of violence and insecurity, with more than 52 executions linked to drug trafficking since early October, El Universal adds. This week, rumors of shootings and kidnappings led authorities to suspend school in and around Acapulco, a separate story says.

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.