Mexican journalist shot dead at primary school holiday party
Source: Associated Press
Lev Garcia Flores, Associated Press
Updated 8:57 pm, Tuesday, December 19, 2017
XALAPA, Mexico (AP) — Attackers burst into an elementary school where a Christmas party was taking place and shot reporter Gumaro Perez to death Tuesday, making him at least the 10th journalist slain in Mexico this year in what observers have called a crisis of freedom of expression.
The Veracruz state security coordinator said in a statement that dozens of parents and children were present when the unidentified attackers shot Perez, whose own child attends the school in the city of Acayucan.
Perez, 34, covered crime for a number of local outlets, had founded the online news site La Voz del Sur and also worked for the local government in some capacity.
He was part of a state program designed to protect journalists as they carry out certain "high-risk" coverage, separate from a federal government program known as "the mechanism" that offers reporters measures like panic buttons on their cellphones and home security.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Mexican-journalist-killed-attending-event-at-12441997.php
Gumaro Perez
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Mexican journalist murdered at son’s Christmas celebration
https://thinkprogress.org/mexican-journalist-murdered-at-sons-christmas-celebration-16444bc50211/
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Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s policies to combat the cartels — and help lessen the violence in Mexico — are focusing on blunt security measures which are likely to make things worse. The State Department, well-placed to help with anti-corruption and press freedom measures, has been gutted. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is also fiercely opposed to any sort of marijuana decriminalization, which is crucial in helping to deprive cartels of their profits. The Mexican government is also continuing to favor a military-first approach, despite its awful track record since 2006. The Mexican Congress recently passed a law strengthening the military’s role as a law enforcement tool to fight the drug cartels, which critics say is unconstitutional and will allow for the armed forces to operate with impunity.
