VZCZCXRO2879
RR RUEHCD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHGD #0611/01 3572254
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 222254Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL GUADALAJARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1157
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 2341
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHGD/AMCONSUL GUADALAJARA 5213

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUADALAJARA 000611 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR KPAO KCRM PHUM MX
SUBJECT: THE LATEST TARGET IN MEXICO'S DRUG WARS: THE SINALOA PRESS 
 
REF: A)  07 MONTERREY 936,  B)  MONTERREY 390 
 
GUADALAJAR 00000611  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  Summary: Increasing narco-violence has caused some Mexican 
states to become virtual open war zones.  The cartels, fighting 
among themselves for control of territory and pressed by 
President Felipe Calderon's counternarcotics campaign, have 
resorted to blatant acts of violence - both in an effort to gain 
control and as a means to fan popular discontent against the 
government. Against this backdrop, media outlets have often been 
caught in the middle. Either via direct coercion, or indirectly 
through veiled challenges against their investigations, the 
media have come under greater pressure to censure their 
reporting. In one of the epicenters of drug violence, Sinaloa 
state, a few courageous elements of the press continue to 
support federal counternarcotics efforts despite considerable 
risks to their lives and livelihoods.  Post has made assistance 
to these besieged journalists a key public diplomacy priority. 
End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
THE REALITY IN SINALOA 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  The drug war is playing out in different ways throughout the 
country, but one of the more clear examples of how this pressure 
can spill out against the media is most evident in the 
northwestern state of Sinaloa.  The capital city of Culiacan has 
become one of the leading cities in the latest wave of violence. 
 Shoot-outs in broad daylight are common and there is a sense 
that local authorities are either unable or unwilling (they 
themselves being corrupted by cartels) to punish the guilty. 
Nationally, cartel killings have numbered well over 5,000 
through 2008, and in the state of Sinaloa alone there have been 
over 1,000 deaths attributed to drug battles. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
A MESSAGE TO THE MEDIA 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. Tied to this alarming trend has been a string of attacks 
against media outlets in the city.  On November 16, 2008, two 
individuals with presumed connections to drug traffickers threw 
fragment grenades at the leading daily newspaper El Debate.  The 
attack shattered windows, blew a hole in the floor and damaged 
the metal gate at one of their main entrances.  Since the attack 
occurred at midnight, it was not done to kill people, but rather 
to send a message.  Just a few days before the grenade attacks, 
a simulated severed human head had been left in a bag in their 
staircase in another chilling effort to stop their reporting. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
DEFYING THE DRUG LORDS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. El Debate and other media outlets have been leading voices 
against the cartels and drug-related violence.  Their editorials 
calling for prosecution of criminals and their reporting on 
organized crime and its connections to politically powerful 
elements have made them a tempting target. As a result of 
wanting to expose the hypocrisy and corruption of the drug war 
(numerous high-level officials have recently fallen at the 
federal level), the press in Sinaloa have found themselves 
staring down the barrels of the guns of the drug lords who don't 
want public exposure of their role in local corruption. 
Nevertheless, the paper relentlessly continues to write about 
the problem, recently publishing a principal editorial stating: 
"Impunity is one of the major ills of the country in fighting 
crime, and too thin the dividing line between police and 
criminals, it becomes impossible to reduce crime," and has 
continued to call for further reforms. 
 
¶5. PDOff recently met with the directors of El Debate and other 
leading newspapers to discuss the current situation in the 
aftermath of these attacks.  The owner of El Debate showed the 
area where the attack occurred.  While repairs to the windows 
and walls were now completed a month after the attack, damage 
could still be seen in the protective metal gate.  The paper's 
owner and managing editor reiterated their belief that this was 
an attack by drug cartels, and had no faith in the local 
authorities to capture or prosecute those responsible. (Note: to 
date no one has been arrested or questioned regarding these 
attacks).  Working level reporters individually discussed their 
own fears in covering drug-related crimes, and how even their 
long-established contacts in the police department were not 
reliable due to corruption.  As a result, the local journalist 
organizations were working with their members to ensure that 
they could verify information via phone before traveling to a 
location, triple checking sources, carrying extra cell phones 
and traveling in pairs for added protection. 
 
------------------------------------- 
A RISKY PROPOSITION 
------------------------------------- 
 
GUADALAJAR 00000611  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. In spite of these threats, all media outlets vowed to 
continue what they viewed as the public's right to know about 
the drug war.  In fact, during the visit by PDOff, a gun battle 
in an upscale part of the city left five people dead in another 
round of narco vendettas.  But the press have continued to cover 
these and other matters in the face of this increasing danger. 
 
¶7. Various reporters discussed security options and a fear about 
their own well-being.  Media outlets have limited contingency 
plans to protect their reporters and the reporters themselves 
have taken to ad hoc means of attempting to cover stories while 
remaining safe.  This is not an easy task, as the NGO Reporters 
without Borders in their 2008 annual report on Mexico called the 
country "the most deadly in the Americas for journalists." 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
------------------------- 
COMMENT: SHORING UP THE MEDIA IS A VITAL TASK 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8.  The media and its ability to influence public opinion will 
play a key role in the eventual success or failure of President 
Calderon's counternarcotics efforts.  Exposure in the press is 
often the only weapon available against corrupt or incompetent 
public officials whose actions facilitate the work of the drug 
cartels.  Recognizing this, PAS Guadalajara is working closely 
with the media in west-central Mexico to fortify its capacity to 
withstand narco pressures.  Post recently organized a conference 
in Guadalajara with the Knight Foundation to help journalists 
learn new tips for covering high-risk stories while remaining 
safe, and plans to offer a similar conference in Sinaloa next 
year.  We will also continue to assist the press through 
reporting tours, and opportunities to hear from high-level 
policy makers.  This vigorous public diplomacy campaign is 
essential for maintaining popular support for the Merida 
Initiative and preventing local media from sinking further into 
a state of fear and self-censorship, which is exactly what the 
cartels want. 
RAMOTOWSKI