Background Information

The following press release was issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on November 20, 2009:

A Mexican reporter who had recently covered corruption and organized crime was reported missing this week in the western state of Michoacán, according to local news reports. María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe, at left, was last seen on November 11 near her home in Zamora. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on state and federal authorities to do everything in their power to immediately bring her to safety.

Aguilar, a reporter for the Zamora-based daily El Diario de Zamora and local correspondent for the regional daily El Cambio de Michoacán, was last seen leaving her home in Zamora, 89 miles (144 kilometers) west of the state capital Morelia, on November 11, after she received a call on her cell phone, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. No one has heard from her since, colleagues told CPJ. A spokesman at the Michoacán State Attorney said her family reported her missing this week.

Aguilar, a reporter with 10 years of experience who has worked with several regional outlets, had recently broken a series of stories on local corruption and organized crime for El Cambio de Michoacán, according to the paper. On October 22, she reported on a military operation near Zamora where at least three individuals, including the son of a local politician, were arrested on suspicion of participating with organized crime groups. On October 27, she published a story on local police abuse, after which a high-ranking official was forced to resign. Three days later, she reported on the arrest of an alleged boss of the Michoacán-based drug cartel La Familia Michoacana. According to a colleague at the daily, Aguilar did not use her byline on any of the stories for fear of reprisal.

Aguilar had not received any threats, colleagues told CPJ. However, in a story published today, El Cambio de Michoacán said her colleagues believe her disappearance could be linked to her reporting. Family members have not made any public comments.

On Thursday, the Michoacán State Prosecutor Jesús Montejano Ramírez said state authorities were investigating Aguilar’s disappearance, the national daily Milenio reported. Montejano said he could not make any leads public in order to not interfere with the investigation.

Aguilar is the eighth Mexican reporter to have gone missing since 2005, according to CPJ research. “We are deeply concerned for the safety of María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe,” CPJ Senior Americas Program Coordinator Carlos Lauría. “We ask state and federal authorities to do all in their power to find her. They need to send a clear message that the disappearance of journalists who report on corruption will not go unprosecuted.”

Michoacán is considered one of the most dangerous states for journalists in Mexico, owing to its high level of violent crime related to drug trafficking and organized crime. On November 20, 2006, José Antonio García Apac, editor of Ecos de la Cuenca en Tepalcatepec, a local newspaper, went missing and has not been seen again. Mauricio Estrada Zamora, a crime reporter for the daily La Opinión de Apatzingán, disappeared on February 12, 2008. Five other reporters have disappeared in Mexico since 2005, CPJ found in its 2008 special report, “The Disappeared in Mexico.” Many of the missing had investigated links between public officials and drug traffickers.

According to CPJ research, 39 journalists have been killed since 1992 in Mexico, one of the most murderous places in the world for journalists. At least 18 were slain in direct reprisal for their work. Most covered organized crime or government corruption.

 

Write a Letter

• Expressing serious concern for the safety of crime reporter María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe of El Cambio de Michoacán, who was last seen leaving her home in Zamora, Michoacán state, on November 11, 2009. It is feared that her disappearance could be related to her reporting on local corruption and organized crime;

• Calling on the federal and state authorities to investigate Aguilar’s disappearance as a matter of the utmost urgency;

• Calling on the authorities to progress investigations into all other unsolved journalist disappearances and murders and to set up protection programs for journalists to ensure their safety;

• Urging the government of President Felipe Calderón to fulfill promises to make crimes against journalists a federal offense, specifically by amending the constitution so that federal authorities have the power to investigate, prosecute and punish such crimes.
 

Send your letter to

President
Lic. Felipe De Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Alemán
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, México
Fax: (+ 52 55) 5093 4901/ 5277 2376
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Señor Presidente/ Dear Mr President
 
Attorney General
Lic. Arturo Chávez Chávez
Procurador General de la República
Av. Paseo de Reforma No. 211-213, Piso 16
Col. Cuauhtémoc, Defegacion Cuauhtémoc
México D.F. C.P. 06500
Tel: + 52 55 5346 0108
Fax: + 52 55 53 46 0908 (if a voice answers, ask “tono de fax, por favor”)
E-mail: [email protected]
Salutation: Señor Procurador General/Dear Attorney General

Attorney General of Michoacán state
Lic. Miguel García Hurtado
Periférico Independencia # 5000
Col. Sentimientos de la Nación, Morelia, Mich., C.P. 58170, MEXICO
Fax: +52 443 299 6460
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Dear Special Prosecutor/Señor Fiscal Especial

Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Mexico in your country if possible.
 
Please send appeals immediately. Contact PEN if sending appeals after January 3, 2010: [email protected]

 

Background Information

The following press release was issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on November 20, 2009:

A Mexican reporter who had recently covered corruption and organized crime was reported missing this week in the western state of Michoacán, according to local news reports. María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe, at left, was last seen on November 11 near her home in Zamora. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on state and federal authorities to do everything in their power to immediately bring her to safety.

Aguilar, a reporter for the Zamora-based daily El Diario de Zamora and local correspondent for the regional daily El Cambio de Michoacán, was last seen leaving her home in Zamora, 89 miles (144 kilometers) west of the state capital Morelia, on November 11, after she received a call on her cell phone, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. No one has heard from her since, colleagues told CPJ. A spokesman at the Michoacán State Attorney said her family reported her missing this week.

Aguilar, a reporter with 10 years of experience who has worked with several regional outlets, had recently broken a series of stories on local corruption and organized crime for El Cambio de Michoacán, according to the paper. On October 22, she reported on a military operation near Zamora where at least three individuals, including the son of a local politician, were arrested on suspicion of participating with organized crime groups. On October 27, she published a story on local police abuse, after which a high-ranking official was forced to resign. Three days later, she reported on the arrest of an alleged boss of the Michoacán-based drug cartel La Familia Michoacana. According to a colleague at the daily, Aguilar did not use her byline on any of the stories for fear of reprisal.

Aguilar had not received any threats, colleagues told CPJ. However, in a story published today, El Cambio de Michoacán said her colleagues believe her disappearance could be linked to her reporting. Family members have not made any public comments.

On Thursday, the Michoacán State Prosecutor Jesús Montejano Ramírez said state authorities were investigating Aguilar’s disappearance, the national daily Milenio reported. Montejano said he could not make any leads public in order to not interfere with the investigation.

Aguilar is the eighth Mexican reporter to have gone missing since 2005, according to CPJ research. “We are deeply concerned for the safety of María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe,” CPJ Senior Americas Program Coordinator Carlos Lauría. “We ask state and federal authorities to do all in their power to find her. They need to send a clear message that the disappearance of journalists who report on corruption will not go unprosecuted.”

Michoacán is considered one of the most dangerous states for journalists in Mexico, owing to its high level of violent crime related to drug trafficking and organized crime. On November 20, 2006, José Antonio García Apac, editor of Ecos de la Cuenca en Tepalcatepec, a local newspaper, went missing and has not been seen again. Mauricio Estrada Zamora, a crime reporter for the daily La Opinión de Apatzingán, disappeared on February 12, 2008. Five other reporters have disappeared in Mexico since 2005, CPJ found in its 2008 special report, “The Disappeared in Mexico.” Many of the missing had investigated links between public officials and drug traffickers.

According to CPJ research, 39 journalists have been killed since 1992 in Mexico, one of the most murderous places in the world for journalists. At least 18 were slain in direct reprisal for their work. Most covered organized crime or government corruption.

 



Write A Letter


• Expressing serious concern for the safety of crime reporter María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe of El Cambio de Michoacán, who was last seen leaving her home in Zamora, Michoacán state, on November 11, 2009. It is feared that her disappearance could be related to her reporting on local corruption and organized crime;

• Calling on the federal and state authorities to investigate Aguilar’s disappearance as a matter of the utmost urgency;

• Calling on the authorities to progress investigations into all other unsolved journalist disappearances and murders and to set up protection programs for journalists to ensure their safety;

• Urging the government of President Felipe Calderón to fulfill promises to make crimes against journalists a federal offense, specifically by amending the constitution so that federal authorities have the power to investigate, prosecute and punish such crimes.
 

Send Your Letter To

President
Lic. Felipe De Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Alemán
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, México
Fax: (+ 52 55) 5093 4901/ 5277 2376
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Señor Presidente/ Dear Mr President
 
Attorney General
Lic. Arturo Chávez Chávez
Procurador General de la República
Av. Paseo de Reforma No. 211-213, Piso 16
Col. Cuauhtémoc, Defegacion Cuauhtémoc
México D.F. C.P. 06500
Tel: + 52 55 5346 0108
Fax: + 52 55 53 46 0908 (if a voice answers, ask "tono de fax, por favor")
E-mail: [email protected]
Salutation: Señor Procurador General/Dear Attorney General

Attorney General of Michoacán state
Lic. Miguel García Hurtado
Periférico Independencia # 5000
Col. Sentimientos de la Nación, Morelia, Mich., C.P. 58170, MEXICO
Fax: +52 443 299 6460
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Dear Special Prosecutor/Señor Fiscal Especial


Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Mexico in your country if possible.
 
Please send appeals immediately. Contact PEN if sending appeals after January 3, 2010: [email protected]