MEXICO: Gunmen attack Acapulco newspaper offices

Record ID: 304080

  • Title: MEXICO: Gunmen attack Acapulco newspaper offices
  • Date: 12th November 2010
  • Summary: CASINGS IN OFFICE WINDOW WITH BULLET HOLES BUILDING EXTERIOR
  • Embargoed: 27th November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA7DKQIP1EKFL28FE1F4CDFEPL0
  • Story Text: Mexican authorities said gunmen attacked the newsroom of El Sur newspaper in the resort of Acapulco on Wednesday (November 10) spraying the building with high-calibre bullets.
    No injuries were reported.
    The assailants walked into the offices at around 22:30 local time (0430 GMT) and threatened 11 newspaper employees, local media reported.
    They tried to set fire to the offices with gasoline, only managing to damage some telephones.
    They then shot up the newsroom and, after leaving, shot from outside the building.
    Following the attack, police arrived to secure the area.
    The Sur newspaper director said authorities should investigate possible political motives and criminal gangs connected to previous attacks on the media. El Sur newspaper has fiercely criticized the local government in the past.
    Across Mexico, a war between rival cartels for control of the multibillion-dollar drug trade has killed more than 31,000 people since late 2006, when President Felipe Calderon launched a war on drugs, worrying Washington and investors.
    Attacks on the media have mounted as drug gangs seek to silence or intimidate journalists who report on the drug killings.
    Since 2006, at least 30 journalists have been killed in Mexico, according to Mexican media. Mexico is one of the world's most dangerous countries for the media, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists says.
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