Can I just play "Pin The Tail on The Donkey"?
Posted on 02/08/2006 8:25:13 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
NUEVO LAREDO - Ramón Darío Cantú Deándar, the owner and general manager of Nuevo Laredo's El Mañana newspaper, promised to all but stop covering the ongoing bloody turf war between rival drug cartels to protect the paper's employees.
"We have asked our personnel to remain calm," Cantú Deándar said in a news conference Tuesday, the day after masked men attacked the newsroom with machine guns. "We will be careful with what we publish regarding the drug trade."
The paper already had been downplaying the increasing violence in the city as part of its efforts to maintain the community's image, but Monday night's assault has strengthened management's resolve to keep away from stories about trafficking-related crime.
The publisher vowed to maintain a "zero investigations" policy.
"They are forcing us to do that, to not inform about violent incidents so that the city's image and credibility are not stained," Cantú Deándar said.
Jaime Orozco Tey, who turned 40 on Monday, was still listed in critical condition in Hospital San José with five gunshot wounds, including several to his back. Witnesses said he was coming down the stairs and walked right into the gunfire; others said the gunmen continued firing at him as he sought cover.
Orozco Tey is an overnight reporter who has been with the paper for 14 years.
"We have two daughters, ages 9 and 7. They are anguished about what happened to their father," said his wife, Lily. She said she's trusting in God and medical treatment for her husband's recovery.
The other reporter injured in the attack was treated at the scene after he was hit by broken glass.
In a Tuesday news conference at the now heavily guarded office, Cantú Deándar said he has no choice but to protect the newspaper's employees.
Meanwhile, President Vicente Fox condemned the attack and instructed the nation's attorney general to investigate the matter directly.
"This attack is against all journalists and freedom of expression," Fox told reporters while visiting the state of Sinaloa, according to the Associated Press. "Of course we condemn organized crime's aggression against members of the media who inform the daily lives of our citizens."
For his part, Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernández Flores demanded that the federal government fulfill its responsibility.
"There is willingness, but no action has been taken to stop organized crime, which the federal government is clearly aware of," Hernández Flores said.
Fox and Hernández Flores both promised safety to border journalists. Dozens of armed federal agents and police officers were patrolling the streets of the city Tuesday, creating uneasiness in the community.
But Cantú Deándar scoffed at the promise of safety, noting that faith in law enforcement at all levels is lacking. No agency has tackled organized crime in Nuevo Laredo head-on, he said, suggesting that's why the violence has proliferated.
After the news conference, Cantú Deándar went to the local office of the Mexican attorney general to give a statement about the attack. While he believes it's clear that drug traffickers were behind the assault, he said he knows of no specific motive for the attack.
Monday night's attack started at about 7:40 p.m., when several masked men entered El Mañana's building and began shooting in the reception area and headed toward the editorial offices. Alarmed by the loud gunshots, employees ran for cover within the building, some of them to the pressroom and others to the rooftop.
Around the nation and internationally, journalists added their voices to denounce the violence against their colleagues.
Ricardo Flores, president of the Association for Democratic Journalists, condemned the passive stance toward investigations and the crime wave sweeping the border city of about 300,000. Since Jan. 1, there have been at least 25 homicides, compared to six during the same time period last year.
Flores said he considers the attack on El Mañana an assault against freedom of expression, and he said there are no guarantees for freedom of the press in Nuevo Laredo.
(Miguel Timoshenkov can be reached at 728-2583 or timo1@lmtonline.com.)
Can I just play "Pin The Tail on The Donkey"?
"Certain foreigners"? Wonder what the criteria is.
He included $247 million in his latest budget proposal to fund rollout of the guest-worker plan.
What does this "rollout" encompass?
Tancredo and his followers are a "very vocal, but minority group," said Randy Johnson, a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which backs a guest-worker plan. Many large businesses depend on immigrant illegal alien labor.
But Johnson said it might be difficult to pass a guest-worker program this election year. He noted that lawmakers are under pressure not to endorse what opponents perceive as amnesty for illegal immigrants.
So Johnson says we're a "very vocal, but minority group" yet he thinks we have enough clout that it'll be "difficult to pass a guest-worker program this election year?"
I hope it IS difficult.
Who says crime doesn't pay...
Looks like Groucho Marx, doesn't it?
Yeah, but it's a good laugher though!
Looks like Groucho. ;o)
LOL, that's what I told Smartass!!
GMTA...eh?
Thank you!
That is SO cute. ;o)
It's easy to criticize these guys from our easy chairs at home.
Which is why the only way to properly deal with terrorists is by using hardened, professional soldiers, who kill them wherever they're found. The only way to get rid of terrorism is to kill the terrorists. Of course, besides killing the actual terrorists, it's important to have an intelligence service that will also kill the leaders and financiers of the terrorist organizations.
Mark
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