Mexican drug insurgents threaten US media

Houston Chronicle:

Government officials and journalist organizations expressed concern Friday about a reported threat against an unnamed American reporter working on the Texas-Mexico border.

Members of the Gulf drug-trafficking cartel were said to have originated the threat, and it seemed to focus on a journalist operating in Nuevo Laredo, across the Rio Grande from Laredo.

As a precaution, editors of the San Antonio Express-News ordered their Laredo correspondent, Mariano Castillo, to leave the area.

Express-News Editor Robert Rivard said Friday that the newspaper — which, like the Houston Chronicle, is owned by the Hearst Corp. — was being extra careful in recalling Castillo, who learned of the threat from a source.

"We don't know that the report is credible, and we hope it isn't. But until we feel comfortable knowing that, we're going to err on the side of caution, and we pulled Mariano out of Laredo last night," Rivard said. "I think that was a prudent move."

Additionally, the Dallas Morning News told Mexico City-based reporter Alfredo Corchado, who has written about the drug gang violence on the border, not to visit the area for the time being.

Diana Fuentes, the editor of the Laredo Morning Times, also owned by Hearst, said she and other editors had discussed the reported threat with their staff and gone over precautionary measures. "We take these reports seriously," Fuentes said, adding, "We're going to keep doing what we do."

Some law enforcement officials downplayed the matter.

Erik Vasys, a spokesman for the FBI San Antonio Division, which oversees bureau operations in Laredo, said he would not "want to dignify" the reported threat by discussing it.

"Law enforcement is well aware that crime reporters regularly find themselves in a position where they antagonize and upset the criminal element," Vasys said. ''If the threat is credible, the FBI will use all of its resources to protect the free press from intimidation or retaliation."

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The insurgent bandits are dealing with a different threat in the US media than the more compliant Mexican media which they have been intimidating for some time. It is not just that killing media will bring even more media attention upon their operations, it will bring more law enforcement attention than they ever imagined. It would be a huge mistake, but it is one that may be unavoidable for them as they are feeling more and more threatened by the crackdown of Mexican and US authorities. It is one that will continue their downward spiral.