Senior journalist gunned
down in Mexico
DPA
Mexico
City, Nov 14 (DPA) A journalist reporting on organized crime
was shot and killed in a town on Mexico's border with the
US, adding to a climate of fear as many media outlets refuse
to cover drug-related violence.
Armando
Rodriguez was shot and killed Thursday by unidentified gunmen
as he dropped his daughter off at school in the northern city
of Ciudad Juarez, the El Diario newspaper said on its website.
Rodriguez
had worked more than 14 years for the paper in an increasingly
fearful environment as gangland violence increases, making
Mexico one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.
According
to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 24 journalists, including
Rodriguez, have been killed since 2000 and seven have disappeared
since 2005. Most of them have been crime reporters, and most
of the cases have not been solved.
In
2008, more than 4,500 people were killed in Mexico in suspected
drug violence, 1,300 of them in the northern province of Chihuahua,
where Ciudad Juarez is located.
President
Felipe Calderon is cracking down on drug cartels, which are
retaliating with widespread violence. Corruption is widespread,
often reaching high into government, police and judicial offices.
"We
urge state and federal authorities to promptly investigate
Rodriguez's slaying and bring those responsible to justice,"
said Carlos Lauria with the Committee to Protect Journalists.
"Mexico
needs to break the cycle of impunity in crimes against journalists,"
Lauria added.
Indo-Asian
News Service
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