Journalists in Mexico are Being Murdered at an Unprecedented Rate

There has never been a time so important for the safety and security of journalists.

Courtesy: activistnews.blogspot.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - There are few things in this world worse than the Murder of journalists, and Mexico is seeing an unprecedented number of reporters killed.

This has happened repeatedly in history when rampant criminality, ranging from organized crime to state terrorism, seeks to silence the messengers.

The majority follow crime but political reporters and all others are at risk, with sports reporters accounting for 4% of the slaughtered reporters, photographers and media workers.

The most recent manifestation of violence toward media are blogger murders; recently the bodies of a man and woman, partly naked and showing signs of torture, were found dangling off of a bridge where notes had been place warning bloggers from being 'rats'. (see: Man and Woman in 20's Tortured and Murdered for Denouncing Cartels Online - Salem-News.com)

The Website Border Issues: Mexico, tabulated the information below and their list of articles and photos is long and very worthwhile, so please visit their site and support their efforts to reach the public and communicate the extremely important information the site's founders are publishing from the Tucson, Arizona area.

Gary Meinert and Don Severe and the Website Border Issues: Mexico, are collectively performing an extremely important mission for the public.

Of course no group seems to do as much as the valued Committee to Protect Journalists, which keeps tabs on journalist safety and mortality all over the world, along with Reporters Without Borders in Paris, France, which has a growing U.S. presence.

Their efforts bring much greater results when they are well publicized, and on a personal level journalists have much to be gained when they shine a light on the struggles of their brethren in Mexico, and all other parts of the world.

Other places that have seen the intentional killing of journalists include Sri Lanka, where a mass spate of journalist deaths and disappearances preceded a Genocide that claimed up to 100,000 people, or more, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are no excuses, there is no acceptance of this wretched act of slaughtering the information carriers that comprise the only group that has any chance of making a difference in public perceptions, as cartels in Mexico know well.

There has never been a time so important for the safety and security of journalists, do what you can to help and appreciate the dangers faced by our brothers and sisters south of our border.

26 Journalists Killed in Mexico since 1992/Motive Confirmed

Silencio o Muerte from Dana Chivvis on Vimeo.

Luis Emanuel Ruiz Carrillo

La Prensa
Mexico

Carlos Alberto Guajardo Romero

Expreso Matamoros
Mexico

Valentín Valdés Espinosa

Zócalo de Saltillo
Mexico

26 Journalists Killed in Mexico/Motive Confirmed

Terminology explained

Maria Elizabeth Macías Castro, Freelance

September 24, 2011, in an area near Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

Luis Emanuel Ruiz Carrillo, La Prensa

March 25, 2011, in Monterrey, Mexico

Carlos Alberto Guajardo Romero, Expreso Matamoros

November 5, 2010, in Matamoros, Mexico

Luis Carlos Santiago, El Diario

September 16, 2010, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

Valentín Valdés Espinosa, Zócalo de Saltillo

January 8, 2010, in Saltillo, Mexico

Bladimir Antuna García, El Tiempo de Durango

November 2, 2009, in Durango, Mexico

Norberto Miranda Madrid, Radio Visión

September 23, 2009, in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico

Eliseo Barrón Hernández, La Opinión

May 25, 2009, in Gómez Palacio, Mexico

Armando Rodríguez Carreón, El Diario de Ciudad Juárez

November 13, 2008, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

Alejandro Zenón Fonseca Estrada, EXA FM

September 24, 2008, in Villahermosa, Mexico

Amado Ramírez Dillanes, Televisa and Radiorama

April 6, 2007, in Acapulco, Mexico

Rodolfo Rincón Taracena, Tabasco Hoy

January 20, 2007, in Villahermosa, Mexico

Roberto Marcos García, Testimonio and Alarma

November 21, 2006, in Mandinga y Matoza, Mexico

Bradley Will, freelance

October 27, 2006, in Santa Lucía del Camino, Mexico

Dolores Guadalupe García Escamilla, Stereo 91

April 16, 2005, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

Gregorio Rodríguez Hernández, El Debate

November 28, 2004, in Escuinapa, Mexico

Francisco Arratia Saldierna, columnist for four newspapers

August 31, 2004, in Matamoros , Mexico

Francisco Javier Ortiz Franco, Zeta

June 22, 2004, in Tijuana, Mexico

José Luis Ortega Mata, Semanario de Ojinaga

February 19, 2001, in Ojinaga, Mexico

Philip True, San Antonio Express-News

December 15, 1998, in Jalisco, Mexico

Luis Mario García Rodríguez, La Tarde

February 12, 1998, in Mexico City, Mexico

Víctor Hernández Martínez, Como

July 26, 1997, in Mexico City, Mexico

Benjamín Flores González, La Prensa

July 15, 1997, in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico

Jesús Abel Bueno León, 7 Días

May 22, 1997, in Chilpancingo, Mexico

Ruperto Armenta Gerardo, El Regional

February 5, 1995, in Guasave, Mexico

Jorge Martín Dorantes, El Crucero

June 6, 1994, in Morelos, Mexico

4 Media Workers Killed in Mexico

Terminology explained

Rodolfo Ochoa Moreno, Grupo Multimedios Laguna

February 9, 2011, in Torreón, Mexico

Agustín López Nolasco , El Imparcial del Istmo

October 8, 2007, in Tehuantepec, Mexico

Flor Vásquez López, El Imparcial del Istmo

October 8, 2007, in Tehuantepec, Mexico

Mateo Cortés Martínez, El Imparcial del Istmo

October 8, 2007, in Tehuantepec, Mexico

34 Journalists Killed in Mexico/Motive Unconfirmed

Terminology explained

Humberto Millán Salazar , A Discusión, Radio Fórmula

August 24 or 25, 2011, in Culiacán, Mexico

Yolanda Ordaz de la Cruz, Notiver

July 24, 25, or 26, 2011, in Veracruz, Mexico

Misael López Solana, Notiver

June 20, 2011, in Veracruz, Mexico

Miguel Ángel López Velasco, Notiver

June 20, 2011, in Veracruz, Mexico

Noel López Olguín, La Verdad de Jáltipan

March 2011, in Chinameca, Mexico

Marco Aurelio Martínez Tijerina, XEDD La Tremenda

July 10, 2010, in Montemorelos, Mexico

Hugo Alfredo Olivera Cartas, El Día de Michoacán, ADN

July 6, 2010, in Apatzingán, Mexico

María Elvira Hernández Galeana, Nueva Línea

June 28, 2010, in Coyuca de Benítez, Mexico

Juan Francisco Rodríguez Ríos, El Sol de Acapulco

June 28, 2010, in Coyuca de Benítez, Mexico

Evaristo Pacheco Solís, Visión Informativa

March 12, 2010, in Chilpancingo, Mexico

Jorge Ochoa Martínez, El Sol de la Costa

January 29, 2010, in Ayutla de los Libres, Mexico

José Luis Romero, Línea Directa

January 2010, in Los Mochis, Mexico

José Alberto Velázquez López, Expresiones de Tulum

December 22, 2009, in Tulum, Mexico

José Emilio Galindo Robles, Radio Universidad de Guadalajara

November 24, 2009, in Ciudad Guzmán, Mexico

Juan Daniel Martínez Gil, Radiorama and W Radio

July 28, 2009, in Acapulco, Mexico

Carlos Ortega Samper, El Tiempo de Durango

May 3, 2009, in Santa María El Oro , Mexico

Jean Paul Ibarra Ramírez, El Correo

February 13, 2009, in Iguala, Mexico

Miguel Angel Villagómez Valle, La Noticia de Michoacán

October 10, 2008, in between Lázaro Cárdenas and Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Teresa Bautista Merino , La Voz que Rompe el Silencio

April 7, 2008, in Putla de Guerrero , Mexico

Felicitas Martínez Sánchez, La Voz que Rompe el Silencio

April 7, 2008, in Putla de Guerrero , Mexico

Mauricio Estrada Zamora, La Opinión de Apatzingán

February 12, 2008, in Apatzingán, Mexico

Gerardo Israel García Pimentel, La Opinion de Michoacán

December 8, 2007, in Uruapan, Mexico

Saúl Noé Martínez Ortega, Interdiario

April 2007, in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico

Adolfo Sánchez Guzmán, Orizaba en Vivo

November 30, 2006, in Mendoza, Mexico

José Manuel Nava Sánchez, El Sol de México

November 16, 2006, in Mexico City, Mexico

Misael Tamayo Hernández, El Despertar de la Costa

November 10, 2006, in Ixtapa, Mexico

Enrique Perea Quintanilla, Dos Caras, Una Verdad

August 9, 2006, in Chihuahua, Mexico

Jaime Arturo Olvera Bravo, freelance

March 9, 2006, in La Piedad, Mexico

Raúl Gibb Guerrero, La Opinión

April 8, 2005, in Poza Rica, Mexico

Roberto Javier Mora García, El Mañana

March 19, 2004, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

José Ramírez Puente, Radio Net

April 28, 2000, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

Pablo Pineda, La Opinión

April 9, 2000, in Matamoros, Mexico

José Luis Rojas, La Uníon de Morelos

July 11, 1994, in Morelos, Mexico

Enrique Peralta Torres, La Uníon de Morelos

July 6, 1994, in Morelos, Mexico

Mexico's violent patterns are spinning out of control and it is more than sad to read over this list of names and consider that each person was vibrant and loved and successful and killed. Many suffered greatly and their families and friends will be impacted forever by their losses. Only the most cowardly people kill journalists and the same applies to medical personnel.

Of course we have entered a time period where the cartels like los Zetas have no moral codes, their goals are to make each Murder more grisly and terrifying than the last. The term 'terrorist' has never been so well defined. Special thanks to our Photojournalist Robert Plumlee for ensuring that we knew about these statistics.

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Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.

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