VZCZCXRO7431
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #3658/01 3632008
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 292008Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9592
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1181
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0388
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0052
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHME/USDAO MEXICO CITY MX
RHMFISS/HQS USNORTHCOM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MEXICO 003658 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR UN MX
SUBJECT: MEXICO PROVES A DANGEROUS PLACE FOR 
JOURNALISTS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  NGOs and media outlets report 
a significant increase in threats and attacks 
against journalists over the last two years. 
While in 2007 only five deaths were reported, 
six journalists were killed in 2008 and twelve 
in 2009 according to the Social Communication 
National Center (CENCOS).  Earlier this year the 
National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) issued 
seven recommendations to the Mexican government 
that speak broadly to steps it should take to 
more effectively investigate and prosecute 
crimes against journalists.  In addition, a 
group of Mexican journalists have formed an 
advocacy group in response to attacks on 
reporters.  The NGO community blames a lack of 
political will for the failure to resolve many 
of the outstanding cases of violence.  The 
Mexican Attorney General's Office (PGR) hopes 
that changes in the law giving federal officials 
expanded investigatory authorities will produce 
greater success in prosecuting the guilty 
parties.  End Summary. 
 
Debating the Numbers 
 
¶2. (SBU) The NGO community, CNDH, and the 
Attorney General's Special Prosecutor for Crimes 
against Journalists (FEADP) each apply differing 
standards of what defines a journalist and thus 
offer competing statistics on the number of 
journalists killed.  Whereas the NGO community 
and CNDH apply a more expansive standard that 
extends to freelance journalists and non- 
mainstream writers, FEADP only defines an 
individual as a journalist if she/he is 
registered with a media outlet, effectively 
disqualifying journalists working without a 
formal employment contract or credentials.  This 
distinction has significant implications since 
FEADP only takes cases in which the following 
four conditions are met:  the crime was 
committed against a journalist as described 
under the law, the journalist was targeted 
because of his profession, the individual 
committing the crime did so in his official 
capacity, and the crime is a jailable offense. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to the NGO community and 
CNDH, twelve journalists have been killed this 
year:  three in Durango, three in Guerrero, one 
in Veracruz, one in Chihuahua, one in Michoacan, 
one in Jalisco, one in Sinaloa, and one in 
Quintana Roo.  The media and NGO community also 
reported more than 200 acts of aggression 
against journalists, ranging from threats and 
intimidation to acts of violence including 
murder.  Several NGOs maintain that state 
agents, particularly local government officials 
and the police, are the main perpetrators of 
violence against journalists.  FEADP, on the 
other hand, registered nine deaths through 
October of this year, but ruled that only two of 
the cases fall within its jurisdiction. 
Furthermore, FEADP called into question whether 
any of the victims were killed because of their 
work as journalists. 
 
The NGO Perspective 
 
¶4. (SBU) Poloff met with Brisa Solis from the 
Social Communication National Center (CENCOS), 
an NGO that advocates for freedom of speech. 
Solis described FEADP as ineffective.  She 
attributed the Prosecutor's failure to prosecute 
aggressors to a lack of political will.  Solis 
said that CENCOS had requested a representative 
from the Organization of American States (OAS) 
come to Mexico in order to look into concerns 
about violence against journalists but that GOM 
authorities had not supported such a visit. 
CENCOS has reported that journalists do not 
receive enough training or support from their 
 
MEXICO 00003658  002 OF 004 
 
 
employers to address the security threats they 
face.  As an example, CENCOS cited the case of 
Armando Rodriguez, murdered in November 2008, 
who prior to his killing had requested he be 
relieved of his responsibility for covering 
security and corruption cases.  His supervisors 
ignored his request and instructed him to 
continue reporting on these issues. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Poloff also met with representatives of 
Article 19, another human rights NGO that 
focuses on the defense and promotion of freedom 
of expression and freedom of information 
worldwide.  Article 19 and CENCOS have 
documented 217 acts of aggression against 
journalists from January through September 2009 
compared to 228 in 2008 and 89 in 2007.  Article 
19 reiterated a concern articulated by CENCOS 
suggesting journalists need to demonstrate 
greater solidarity to confront the problem of 
violence.  Article 19 attributed the lack of 
unity to the intrinsic competitiveness among 
media outlets and the fact that journalists, as 
a whole, often lack credibility even with each 
other.  Like CENCOS, Article 19 argued that the 
primary perpetrators of crimes against 
journalists were government officials and not 
organized crime groups. 
 
Pending Legislation 
 
¶6. (SBU) For the past few years, Article 19 has 
worked with the Mexican Congress to federalize 
crimes against freedom of expression.  The 
Mexican Chamber of Deputies approved a draft 
bill in April 2009 that would include crimes 
against journalists in the federal penal code 
and would extend the definition of journalists 
to include non-mainstream writers, members of 
independent media in addition to freelance and 
mainstream journalists.  The Mexican Senate is 
expected to review the law during the next 
legislative session beginning early next year. 
 
The CNDH Foists Blame on PGR 
 
¶7. (SBU) Poloff met with Mauricio Farah, the 
former Director of the CNDH's unit that 
investigates crimes related to trafficking in 
persons, journalists and migrants.  Farah 
maintained that authorities were doing nothing 
to address threats against journalists.  Farah 
believed that the increase in violence was 
prompting the media to censor itself.  He 
reported that his office was seeing an increase 
in complaints involving anonymous threats, 
disappearances, aggression against journalists 
and media facilities, as well as homicides. 
CNDH attributed FEADP's failings to its present 
lack of authority to investigate crimes against 
freedom of expression in cases not involving 
federal offenses as described by the law. 
 
¶8. (SBU) During a CNDH press conference centered 
on concerns about violence against journalists, 
Farah and former CNDH President Jose Luis 
Soberanes Fernandez, presented seven 
recommendations to all of the governors of 
Mexico's states as well as Mexico City's mayor, 
and Mexico's Attorney General.  The 
recommendations included calls to end impunity; 
make journalists a protected class and ensure 
that the bodies responsible for investigating 
and prosecuting cases involving violence against 
journalists take these cases seriously; sanction 
authorities that defraud the justice system or 
are negligent in their investigation or 
prosecution of cases; guarantee the safety and 
support of journalists that cover high-risk and 
sensitive issues; give victims of violence the 
right to reparations; and review the efficacy 
and level of competence of the different 
 
MEXICO 00003658  003 OF 004 
 
 
agencies handling these issues and the 
mechanisms they have in place. 
 
FEADP Takes a Stand 
 
¶9. (SBU) Poloff met with the Director of the 
FEADP Ethel Riquelme who was quick to renounce 
many of the statements made by both the NGO 
community and the CNDH.  Riquelme conceded 
FEADP's jurisdiction is limited and conveyed his 
hope that the pending legislation will give it 
the authority to address more cases around the 
country.  When asked about the increase in 
violence against journalists, Riquelme 
identified organized crime groups as the 
principal culprits.  Riquelme offered several 
explanations why his office does not pursue more 
cases involving violence against journalists. 
First, he remarked that many journalists drop 
charges before an investigation can even 
primarily because the aggressors either 
apologize or provide the victim with some form 
of compensation.  Without the victim's expressed 
consent, FEADP cannot commence or continue 
investigating a case.  Echoing CENCOS' point, 
Riquelme maintained that media outlets needed to 
do more to provide its employees with 
appropriate training and support.  He noted, for 
example, that Mexican journalists often lack 
standard credentials, rules of ethics, 
employment contracts, insurance, and guidance 
regarding satefy and security concerns.  He 
insisted FEADP was making a genuine effort to 
meet with university journalism students to 
better inform them of the challenges they will 
face in their careers and the demands they 
should make of their employers to help address 
the inherent risks of their work. 
 
10 (SBU) Riquelme conceded his office needed to 
improve its working relationship with CNDH. 
Although the two sides meet on a weekly basis to 
share information, Riquelme accused CNDH of 
holding back information it could use.  For 
example, Riquelme said that his office had 
waited several months to obtain statistics from 
CNDH on complaints it had received in connection 
to violence against journalists.  As far as 
CNDH's recommendations were concerned, Riquelme 
remarked that his office was looking at them 
more closely but described them generally as 
rather vague. 
 
Journalists Take a Stand 
 
¶11. (SBU) In response to the high levels of 
violence, journalists have formed a group called 
the Reporters' National Front in Defense of 
Freedom of Expression.  Announced on December 10 
by journalists from several Mexico City and 
Puebla newspapers and two magazines, the group 
said that it will create a system for 
journalists to report attacks and will work to 
defend reporters and offer them legal advice. 
It also plans publicity campaigns to promote 
appreciation for the work journalists do. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment:  Critics argue that Mexican 
authorities consistently fail to investigate 
properly cases involving violence against 
journalists, and have yet to punish any 
identified aggressors.   The NGO community 
maintains that journalists, particularly in 
outlying local communities, are often targeted 
in retaliation for critical reporting on 
corruption or drug trafficking cases. 
Representatives from the NGO community, CNDH, 
and the FEADP agree on the need for the Mexican 
Congress to expand the criteria that define 
journalists and more broadly federalize crimes 
against freedom of expression.  Until 
authorities on either the local or federal 
 
MEXICO 00003658  004 OF 004 
 
 
level, however, more effectively prosecute and 
convict those responsible, impunity will 
prevail, contributing to concerns about self- 
censorship in local communities. End Comment. 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and 
the North American Partnership Blog at 
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
 
PASCUAL