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Wednesday, May 17, 2017

At Least a Hundred Armed Men Assault Journalists in Guerrero

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat from La Jornada

Seven Journalists were stripped of their equipment, money and a vehicle as they attempted to cover the events over the weekend in San Miguel Totolapan, Guerrero.

Seven local, national and international media journalists were intercepted yesterday afternoon at a checkpoint on the Iguala-Ciudad Altamirano road, at the height of this municipality, in northern Guerrero, by some 100 armed and hooded civilians. They were beaten and stripped of their work equipment and belongings. The gunmen threatened to burn their equipment and vehicles if they did not cooperate. They were later transported to Iguala for medical attention by a patrol of Federal Forces.


Sergio Ocampo, correspondent of La Jornada in Guerrero; Jair Cabrera, graphic reporter and collaborator of this publishing house; Hans Máximo Musielik, of Vice News; Pablo Pérez García, of Hispano Post; Jorge Martinez, of the agency Quadratín; Angel Galeana, from Imagen TV, and Alejandro Ortiz, from Bajo Palabra newspaper, were held for 15 minutes by visibly drugged subjects.

The gunmen, allegedly belonging to the criminal organization La Familia Michoacana, stripped reporters of their belongings, computer equipment, photo and video cameras, cell phones, cash, and a Jeep Patriot owned by Sergio Ocampo, together valued at about one million pesos.

Hans Máximo was quoted as saying that one of the armed civilians, stabbed him with a pistol in his head, and warned him: "If we see that you stop at the checkpoint and say what happened to you we are going to eat you alive. We have our hawks watching.

Approximately one kilometer away, the Mexican Army had a revision checkpoint before entering the Tierra Caliente region of Guerrero.

The group of journalists had moved to the area yesterday to cover the events that took place since Friday in the municipality of San Miguel Totolapan, where military and state forces took control of security.

Hundreds of people, led by members of the Movement for Peace, tried to block the Military's entrance to their community by setting up some barricades. Following the arrival of soldiers and state agents in at least seven of the nine municipalities that make up the Tierra Caliente region, there were reports of at least 14 road blocks, several made by transporters and 20 vehicles set on fire.


In this area that includes the municipalities of Arcelia, San Miguel Totolapan, Tlapehuala, and Ajuchitlán del Progreso, the criminal groups of Los Tequileros Familia Michoacana< dispute for the control of drug trafficking routes. The constant clashes between these criminal organizations keep the region ravaged by violence.

Around 7:30 am, the journalists arrived in the municipality of San Miguel Tololapan in two vehicles and later, when arriving at a point known as Palos Altos, in the municipality of Arcelia, they left the two vehicles in the parking lot of a restaurant.From there they moved on foot to various points located on the federal highway between Iguala-Ciudad Altamirano, a stretch of about 15 kilometers.

Because the state riot police were deactivating the blockades installed mainly by the transporters, the journalists agreed that two of their companions would move to Palos Altos, anticipating that there could be violent confrontations between the operatives of the authority and the community activists.

At around 4 pm in the afternoon the seven reporters went to lunch at one of the restaurants located near the Vicente Guerrero Dam, in the municipality of Arcelia, and an hour later they left for Iguala.

On the way they passed by another military checkpoint and then headed towards the crossroad that goes to the municipality of Acapetlahuaya, but around 6 pm they encountered a blockade made with stones and sticks, guarded by about 100 armed civilians who shouted at them and forced them to get out of the two vehicles, a Jeep Liberty and a Patriot.

Immediately a group of young people, including a minor of about 13 years, began to strip them of their belongings, and another subject, apparently the head of the blockade asked for the keys to the vehicles.

The seven journalists were taken to an alley, where there were houses , while the armed group pulled out computers, cameras and other equipment from the vehicles and others called for the journalists' portfolios.

After about 15 minutes, another of the leaders of the armed civilians finally warned them that one of the vehicles would be kept. Faced with the complaints of the journalists, he said: “if you do not leave, we are going to take both vehicles and we will screw with you. The journalists chose to retire in one vehicle and they  left.

On Friday morning, approximately 500 soldiers of the Mexican Army, the State Riot  Police and Ministerial Police arrived in the municipality of San Miguel Totolapan with the purpose of carrying out an operation that would lead to the capture of the leaders of the indicated criminal groups, whose clashes keep the region devastated.

About a thousand people, led by members of the so called self-defense group, the Movement for Peace, created last December to confront the criminal gangs involved in the disputed drug trafficking routes, attempted to prevent all security forces from passing through. The so called self defense group backed off and the security forces finally reached the center of the town.

So far this year, more than 700 murders allegedly related to organized crime have been committed in Guerrero, a large part of which are in Tierra Caliente towns and surrounding areas where there are vast tracts of poppy and marijuana fields.

27 comments:

  1. Sometimes all of us think "i would kill that dude if i could" We think,in Mexico they do?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, they were lucky, El Ojo De Vidrio Porfirio Cadena would have left then dead wearing nothing but their calzones on the cerro, this shows you not all criminals are the same.

      Delete
  2. Is there a connection between the War-on-Drugs and the supply of drugs???

    After 30 years of WoD illicit drugs are today cheaper, stronger and more plentifull in our society than ever.

    El Ekibocado

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So increase the resources for the war and the quality of product(s) goes up. Im sure its pure coincidence

      Delete
    2. Pos a Güebo, the WoD serves primarily to pave the clandestine air strips in El Chapo's tunnels, (not all of it) and makes the drug trafficking profits even more profitable.

      Delete
  3. Read this few days ago BB
    Such rampant disrespect for journalists nowadays in Mexico.
    What's puzzling is the lack of law enforcement to protect and serve in many states in Mexico.
    Not only were these journalists lucky to have had only equipment taken compared to lives.
    Such a shame that the president always condemns such actions from criminals but no real actions ever takes precedence to combat such.
    Mexico will continue to fall under such rampant violence if no security measures are implemented.

    E42

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No politicians are too busy stealing the security budgets so bottom line is, there is no money left to fight the bad guys.

      Delete
    2. You are probably correct 10:20 am.

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    3. What's puzzling to me is the perspective. Sounds as you've never set foot in Mexico

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    4. Disrespect for journalists is OK, but murdering them them is a whole 'nother thing, there is nothing politicians fear more than being exposed by journos, that where their front line security murdering apparatus kicks in, they are "special forces" composed of polizetas, sicarios, aguacates de plomo and goose steppin' gansitos marinelas.
      --By the way Cuauhtemoc Blancol, mayor of Cuernavaca has been accused by Morelos State butcher #1 'governor' Graco Ramirez PRD, OWNED BY EPN who also accuses the family of Joan Sebastian and "organized crime" of ordering and paying for the murder of Juan Manuel Garcia Bejarano, organizer of the "Feria de la Primavera" right at the Parade, the murderer Jesus Fierro Escobar has even "confessed" to the whole thing, but Cuauhtemoc has been exhonerated by the courts and by the murder victim's father Jesus Garcia who does not believe in graco ramirez' government's fairy tales.

      Delete
  4. Sentimientos de la nación. Feelings of the nation. How corny is that. Mexicans are QUIRKY like that. You're either laughing or crying. Sometimes both in a country filled with MADNESS - Sol Prendido

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a crazy area, they need to stay away from there..

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  6. Doesn't surprise me, Narcos run Guerrero.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It looks like another 43 missing will.be missing soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. RCQ and Chapitos announcing their take over of Juarez again and put police on notice for selling out to linea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol their daddy chapo couldn't take it, I do7bt they can.. gotta find onother border plaza because Mencho already took Tijuana. Fact son

      Delete
  9. Disculpen que es pozole?... Soy Argentino

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pieces of pork, boiled in water, garlick, with hominy you can buy ready cooked and you add red or green peppers, liquefied, add hot sauce, diced onion, lime juice, sliced cabbage or lettuce...you can subtitute beef or chicken for the meat, add salt to taste.
      In the case of a human pozole, stuff the customer in a vat of chemicals until he/she disappears, or in a big metal pail with a lot of diesel or wood or both for a carniasada.
      --Coming soon to argentina, too many pails there from the Meth precursors that don't get recycled...

      Delete
    2. The pride of the Argentinian Armada, the School of the Mechanics was used by Admiral Emilio Eduardo Massera to tenderize the meat of their victims, his officers helped immensely, sold the babies their rape victims had, and some victims gave Massera their property and money, he needed it to buy himself vedettes and other women to play with and be all the argentinian playboy he.could be...
      All to achieve Operation Condor's goals of ending communism in South America.

      Delete
  10. I would bet that this group "The Movement For Peace" is most likely the farmers and relatives of poppy & weed plantations protecting their forced or complicit criminal income. Hell, they probably had those bunch of meth heads rob the journalists t'boot!

    ReplyDelete
  11. México Lindo y Querido
    si muero lejos de ti
    que digan que estoy dormido
    y que me traigan aquí

    Que digan que estoy dormido
    y que me traigan aquí
    México Lindo y Querido
    si muero lejos de ti.

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Es bien posible que si mueras en México, de forma no linda y menos querida!
      El sol metido

      Delete
    2. GMO corn from IOWA has been killing the mexicans, but Iowa farmers are about to have to eat their own corn if mexico forbids the Iowa corn imports, that helped kill mexican corn exports and production for mexican farmers that now can grow lettuces and nopales for their new international master, "walmart"

      Delete
  12. HEADS UP!
    Everyone, please, check out today's ( thursday ) Democracy Now.
    Amy Goodman does a whole double segment about Javier and this incident with
    Anabel Hernández.
    Stream and watch if possible.

    ReplyDelete
  13. We usually say 'Mexico lindo y jodido ...'

    ReplyDelete
  14. Arm the reporters. As long as there is no 2nd Ammendment in MX..there will be no peace. They need to carry a SAW 249 in the jeep, the Squad Auto Weapon is now for sale to US civilians.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, "arm the reporters", it is almost like you are asking for one more reason to kill the moophakas, the aguacates and the marinas will say "we thought they wuz narcos" and have the evidence there to support their claim...

      Delete

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