Cablegate: Mexico Proves a Dangerous Place For

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.

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http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and
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