The press under pressure in the Sinaloa war: “Shooting on one media outlet is a warning to the others” | International

The press is going through difficult times in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The war unleashed between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel following the arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in the United States in July has put journalism under siege in recent weeks. The shooting at the newspaper’s headquarters El debateone of the largest and most important in the state, the kidnapping of an employee from the same media company and the recent increase in threats have put the entire industry on alert. Several journalists and human rights defenders spoke to EL PAÍS about the fear and insecurity they feel when they go to work every day.

The crucial day was September 9th. This Monday, an unprecedented wave of violence broke out in Sinaloa. The alleged betrayal of one of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons, Joaquín Guzmán López, against Zambada, whom he allegedly handed over to the US authorities, disrupted a balance that had existed in Culiacán for years. Until then, the two factions had coexisted with almost no problem in the capital Sinaloa. But the breaking of this “unwritten code,” says a local reporter who did not want to give his name for security reasons, led to the war that has rocked the state ever since.

The reporters are caught in the middle of this fight, several people told this newspaper. “The situation is complicated by the division within the Sinaloa cartel,” says Jesús Bustamante, president of the journalists’ association “7. June”. “We have nothing to do with it, but we have a duty to report what is happening.” The increase in clashes between organized crime factions has led to an increase in intimidation against the profession, threats and blockades to prevent access to the areas where the violence took place. “All of this became more visible with the attack El debate“, he adds.

On October 17, shortly after 10:30 p.m., the headquarters of El debate In downtown Culiacán, a man was attacked with gunfire as he got out of a car with a long gun. The vehicle had been circling the media house for some time and when the attacker shot at the facade, two journalists standing at the door managed to escape and lie down to avoid the bullets. The bullet-riddled entrance is the one that staff use to enter and exit, explains a newspaper employee who did not want to give his name, and there are usually a lot of people out and about at this time. That day, some colleagues had left just minutes before the attack. No one was hurt, but “the fear that this leaves behind doesn’t go away.”

Less than two days later, the media company was attacked again. A delivery driver on a motorbike carrying printed copies of the newspaper was chased, attacked and kidnapped by armed criminals in the early hours of last Saturday. Since then, his colleagues and family have not received any news from him. “I hope that the people who kidnapped him will take pity on him and release him,” says his colleague. Photos distributed after the attack on the delivery man showed the newspapers scattered next to his motorcycle, with the worker nowhere to be seen. For the other media, these two attacks are a message of criminality to the entire industry. “By attacking a highly respected media outlet with bullets, they are putting everyone on alert,” Bustamante said. “It’s a warning to the others.”

When the wave of violence broke out in early September, the press began to notice signs that reporting would be difficult, Bustamante explains. In recent months, if they have asked criminal groups for permission to enter a red zone, they have been able to do so. But when they recently tried to gain access to areas where clashes were occurring, cartel members blocked their way and warned them not to publish anything about what was happening in certain communities, he explains. This led to journalists no longer venturing into rural areas and refraining from reporting to avoid exposing themselves. “We limit ourselves to reporting on events in the city because there is no safe way to reach these communities,” he says.

At least three reporters, who declined to give their names, said they are now taking extra precautions in their work. They don’t go out at night, they don’t report a story alone, and sometimes they don’t even identify themselves as journalists. “The press lives in a context of fear,” he says El debate workers. “We’re trying to understand where the boundaries are so that the content you write doesn’t get you in trouble.” The newspaper’s editorial team is currently under the protection of the National Guard and State Police, but how long that will remain that way remains to be seen they don’t.

Jhenny Bernal Arellano, director of the Institute for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in Sinaloa, acknowledges that the most affected workers are crime reporters and that complaints of attacks on reporters have almost tripled in the last month and a half. “The climate of violence continues, we have had several incidents that put us on alert,” she said in a telephone interview. Authorities have tried to downplay the situation, which has continued to deteriorate as the weeks have passed. “All measures will still not be enough to ensure the work of the press,” she adds.

For Bernal, what the state is experiencing is “extraordinary violence”, because although it is used to dealing with adverse conditions at all times, what is happening now is extreme. Another local reporter, who also declined to give his name, said that “something like this has never happened before.” Several journalists remember the period of struggle between the Sinaloa cartel and the Beltrán Leyva group as the last major conflict they experienced, which began in 2008 and ended almost two years later. Back then it was a weekly publication Riodoce suffered an attack when two attackers threw a grenade at the editorial office.

However, the experiences back then do not reduce the fears of today. Reporters no longer fight over who has exclusive rights, who gets there first, or who breaks the story before everyone else. They have decided to abandon competition and prioritize safety. “The conditions are very difficult, but if we stop working we lose our essence,” the worker testified El debate. “Journalists in Sinaloa are not only brave, they have also learned to deal with fear.”

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