Mexico: Crime Reporter Is Killed

The New York Times ^ | June 14, 2012

[Clintonfatigued]

Assailants kidnapped and killed a reporter who covered crime news in Veracruz State, officials said Thursday, the latest in a series of attacks on journalists in a relentless drug war across the country. The reporter, Víctor Báez, who worked for the Mexican daily newspaper Milenio, was abducted as he was leaving his office in the town of Xalapa late Wednesday. The police found his body on Thursday morning in the city center, said Gina Domínguez, a spokeswoman for the Veracruz State government. Several journalists have left Veracruz State in recent months, fearing for their lives, but Mr. Báez had insisted on staying to continue his work. He is at least the sixth journalist to have been killed in Mexico in the past two months.

[Clintonfatigued]

The MSM needs to be informed of this murder. Maybe they won’t be so fervently politically correct if they think their own lives could be in danger.

[Steely Tom]

The MSM needs to be informed of this murder. Maybe they won’t be so fervently politically correct if they think their own lives could be in danger.

Or then again maybe they'll become even more politically correct.

[warsaw44]

I’m curious; are there any safe places to vacation in Mexico?

I have seen threads on FR detailing horror stories in that country but is the entire nation unsafe??

[Ditter]

I think I’d pick another spot.

[MestaMachine]

It is amazing to me how US politicians beat their breasts, decry the evil, and rend their garments over the violence in syria while many thousands of people a fingersnap away are being mercilessly tortured, murdered, maimed, dismembered, blown up, and terrorized...and we helped. It makes me sick.

[count-your-change]

I've just been talking to some people just back from spending a few months in NW Mexico. The town they were in was under control of the military and no one could enter or leave without going through the military checkpoints.

Still at times gangs wear military uniforms and kidnap gringos so many business will not allow a woman alone to come into their shops. Same with bus service. Without a male companion, no ticket.

So the safest place in Mexico to vacation is probably San Diego.

[crz]

I wound NOT go down there no matter what. You get just a block away from your vacation spot and you are a target.

Lots of places right here in the USA to go to. Or the Caribbean.

[Dallas59]

I hate it when these dopes say it’s all because of the war on drugs. These are mobsters and drugs are only a part of what they’re into. This is a war on freedom and society in general. Legalizing drugs won’t stop a damn thing.

[Ditter]

Even if there were no drug wars to get yourself caught in the middle of, the Mexican government is so corrupt that it can't be trusted. Everybody in government has their hand out for a bribe.

[citizencon]

The NYTimes should take inspiration from Victor Baez’s bravery and integrity.
He was a true journalist- which the editors and reporters at the NYT are not.

[BwanaNdege]

Yucatan is fairly safe. Cancun south to Chetumal. Nice folks. fairly modern, fairly affordable.

We’re taking the ADO bus from Belize to Cancun on Wednesday night.

No worries

[NonValueAdded]

So the safest place in Mexico to vacation is probably San Diego.

:)

[GOPJ]

Was the reporter killed with a gun supplied by one of our Justice Departments' sting operation? Fast and Furious perhaps?

Prayers for the brave reporters loved ones ....

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[AuntB]

“The MSM needs to be informed of this murder. Maybe they won’t be so fervently politically correct if they think their own lives could be in danger.”

You sure don’t see any of our USA lamestream media types going to Mexico!

[AuntB]

Think twice about Mexico...check the Nafbpo M3 foreign report for what is really going on down there.

http://m3report.wordpress.com/

Plenty of beheadings around Cancun.

#
Man beheaded, another shot dead in Cancun | News.com.au
Jan 11, 2011 ... MEXICAN police found a headless male body and another shot dead in the
popular vacation resort of Cancun, after a violent weekend which ...
www.news.com.au/...beheaded...cancun/story-e6frfku0-1225985334025
#
Cancun Governor Blames Gulf Cartel for Beheadings
The beheadings of twelve people in southern Mexico were probably the work of
the powerful Gulf cartel based across the border from Texas, Yucatan Gov.
banderasnews.com/0808/nr-ivonneortega.htm - Cached
#
Mexico killings and beheadings don’t deter Americans from traveling ...
Jan 12, 2011 ... More than 15000 people were killed last year in the Mexican drug wars, but the
often gruesome slayings have not destroyed the tourist industry.
articles.nydailynews.com/.../29442446_1_travel-leaders-travel-deals-cancun - Cached
#
Cancun: Is it safe for visitors? - USATODAY.com
Apr 14, 2011 ... Cancun says it welcomed 5.9 million international visitors last year, ... “We haven’
t been beheaded,” Archer, a 26-year-old dental assistant, ...
travel.usatoday.com/destinations/story/2011/03/-Cancun-Is.../1 - Cached
#
Seven women murdered in Mexico, one beheaded
Dec 3, 2009 ... Seven women were murdered in Mexico, including one who was beheaded in
the southern beach resort of Cancun, authorities reported ...
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399511/posts - Cached - Similar
#
Man Beheaded, Another Shot Dead in Cancun - Travel Agent
Jan 11, 2011 ... The Straits Times and various other media outlets are reporting that Mexican
police on Monday found a headless male body and another shot ...
www.travelagentcentral.com/cancun/man-beheaded-another-shot-dead-cancun-26283 - Cached

[AuntB]

Here’s some stats from NAFBPO on murders of Journalists...MORE killed in Mexico THAN ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD!

http://m3report.wordpress.com/

XALAPA, VERACRUZ

Another journalist, Víctor Manuel Báez Chino, was kidnapped Wednesday night and his body found the following day. A message was left with the body from Los Zetas.

He is the fifth journalist to be killed in just over a month in the state of Veracruz.

Since 2000, 81 journalists have been murdered and 16 are missing. A few days ago, a reporter for the police section of the newspaper El Zocalo in the northern state of Coahuila disappeared with her child and is feared to have been kidnapped.

[Cvengr]

The tone of Mexico in Tijuana has changed drastically in the last 24 months.

3 years ago, it felt spooky in Baja.

2 years ago, it felt evil.

1 year ago, it felt cautious.

This year it felt more comfortable (spiritually) in Tijuana, than in Palm Springs.

FWIW, I’d still frequent the higher class joints, but it’s a different interplay between US Americans and Mexicans.

About 13.8 pesos to the dollar and clinics/medcal/dental work in Mexico is a fifth to a third of US costs with identical procedures and treatments. (Possibly more professional for standard care, because they aren’t tuned up for insurance billing.)

I haven’t found trades/crafts to be as robust in Mexico as it was 20-40 years ago, but one can tell present day shop owners were taught how to barter by their parents. Problem is that 30 years ago they bartered their crafts and trades, whereas today nearly all their “Mexican” pottery and crafts are imported form China and purchased from Costco, then distributed to their shops and bartered like they were sold 30 years ago. Same for cigars,...it just doesn’t work.