Two days after the offices of the newspaper El Norte were set on fire in the city of Monterrey in northern Mexico, another similar fire was reported on Tuesday, July 31, in the same city against a newspaper and magazine distributor. A group of five armed individuals set a magazine warehouse on fire after assaulting its employees, according to the newspaper Reforma.
Before starting the fire with fuel, the individuals ordered the employees to evacuate the Publications Distributor (DISPA in Spanish) building, and no one was harmed, reported Proceso. DIPSA is the only company that distributes magazines and newspapers in the city of Monterrey, according to the newspaper El Economista.
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze, which lasted less than five minutes, but the criminals managed to escape in a truck, according to the newspaper Excélsior.
During the same week, four similar attacks happened in Monterrey. In addition to the newspaper El Norte and the magazine distributor, a casino and supermarket also were similarly attacked, reported the magazine Proceso.
Mexico is the most dangerous country for journalists in the Americas. See this Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas map of attacks against the Mexican press.
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.
