PEN International is appalled by the killing of Raúl Régulo Garza Quirino, reporter for the weekly newspaper La Ultima Palabra. The journalist was gunned down on January 6, 2012, by a gang in Cadereyta, state of Nuevo León, and is the first journalist in Mexico to be murdered in 2012. PEN calls on the Mexican authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into Garza’s killing and to bring to an end to Mexico’s climate of impunity in which attacks such as these take place.

Background Information

Raúl Régulo Garza Quirino, 30, was shot to death by unidentified gunmen after a car chase near his home in Cadereyta, Nuevo León. Garza, who also worked for the local government’s department of social development, had been driving his car on the evening of January 6 when another car began pursuing him. Although he sought refuge in a garage owned by a relative, Garza was unable to escape, and his assailants shot him numerous times. At least 16 shots were fired during the attack.

So far, no clear motive for the attack has been identified. However, Cadereyta is a hotbed of violent crime and a stronghold of Los Zetas, a violent drug cartel implicated in the murders of other journalists. In recent months, scores of individuals in the state have gone missing.
 
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to practice journalism. In the last five years, 37 print journalists, writers and bloggers have been murdered in connection with their work, and eight have disappeared; most of the dead were involved in reporting on corruption and organized crime. The vast majority of these killings have never been properly investigated, and most of the perpetrators remain unpunished.
 
In November 2011, PEN launched its Day of the Dead campaign which drew attention to the dangerous, often lethal environment in which Mexican journalists work.

Write A Letter

  • Calling on the Mexican authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the latest murder;
  • Calling for an end to Mexico’s climate of impunity in which attacks such as these take place;
  • Calling on the government of President Felipe Calderón to fulfill promises to make crimes against journalists a federal offense 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. Marisela Morales Ibáñez
Procuradora 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: Señora Procuradora General/Dear Attorney General

Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Freedom of Expression
Dr Gustavo Salas Chávez
Fiscal Especial para la Atención de Delitos Cometidos contra la Libertad de Expresión (FEADLE)
Email: [email protected], [email protected]


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 31, 2012: ftw [at] pen.org