 |
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2007 
PGR: Cartels Not Involved in Ramírez Case
 Kelly Arthur Garrett - The Herald Mexico
| | Crowds of people line the beaches of Acapulco, Mexico, Saturday, April 7, 2007, during Holy Week. Despite escalating drug-related violence, tourists flocked to Acapulco this week, nearly filling area hotels for Holy Week. (AP/Gonzalo Perez) |
Even as legislators, international journalist groups and President Calderón himself urged redoubled efforts to solve the latest murder of a Mexican media member, the federal Attorney General´s Office (PGR) said Monday that last Friday´s killing of veteran Televisa correspondent Amado Ramírez Dillanes in Acapulco will not be investigated by special organized crime prosecutors.
In a surprising revelation, PGR sources said Friday that Ramírez´s murder was unrelated to organized crime, and therefore the investigation will not be handled by the special SIEDO investigative unit.
The crime will be treated as a common killing, they said, though it could be referred to another special division for crimes against journalists.
Meanwhile, Guerrero state authorities say they have a composite drawing of the suspect produced from witnesses´ accounts, and that an arrest is imminent.
According to local news reports, state Government Secretary Armando Chavarría said in a radio interview, "I´m confident that there will be results in the next few days so that this killing won´t go unpunished."
According to journalist protection organizations, at least six Mexican journalists have been murdered since 2000 in direct reprisal for their work reporting on organized crime and drug trafficking.
Ramírez had aired a special report in March linking the murder of local police officers to drug traffickers.
DEATH THREATS
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international press protection organization based in New York, Ramírez had received several death threats over his cellular phone.
He was shot, the CPJ said, by a gunman at close range as Ramírez got into his car near Acapulco´s central square around 7:30 p.m. As Ramírez tried to run, the gunman followed and shot him dead.
In a letter Friday to President Calderón suggesting more aggressive policies to protect journalists, CPJ executive director Joel Simon said his organization had yet to confirm that Ramírez Dillanes´ death was directly related to his work as a journalist.
UNACCEPTABLE DANGER
But Simon said the danger facing reporters writing or broadcasting about organized crime activity is unacceptable.
"Violence and fear have had a devastating effect on the press, as reporters who cover crime and drug trafficking have increasingly resorted to self-censorship," he said. "The wave of violence against the press is curtailing journalists´ ability to report the news."
Simon said the Calderón administration can do more to change the atmosphere.
"As you set priorities during your first year in office, we urge you to make the protection of press freedom and freedom of expression a hallmark of your administration," he said in his letter to the president.
"We believe that through concerted action, your government can help stem the tide of attacks against the press."
Two other major international journalists´ rights organizations - Reporters Without Borders and the Inter American Press Association - delivered similar correspondences Friday.
The Interior Secretariat (Gobernación) released a bulletin Monday in which President Calderón asked for additional effort in solving and preventing crimes against journalists.
"The president has given instructions to the attorney general, Eduardo Medina Mora, to work in a coordinated manner with state authorities regarding crimes against journalists, and to redouble efforts in the struggle against organized crime," the announcement read.
Legislators from all three major parties joined Monday in the condemnation of Ramírez´s murder, with many assuming organized crime involvement, despite the PGR announcement.
"We´re calling for a quick investigation." said Emilio Gamboa, a deputy from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
"We need to clarify why there is such a strong impulse for revenge in so many parts of the Republic."
In a small family ceremony Sunday, Amado Ramírez Dillanes´ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean off Acapulco´s Caleta beach, where he and his wife were married 25 years ago.
EL UNIVERSAL staff writer Laura Reyes Maciel in Acapulco contributed to this report. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us