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Nuevo Laredo paper to limit drug war coverage
After attack on offices, editorial to address community, cartels

07:06 AM CST on Thursday, February 9, 2006
By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News

The editorial board of a Mexican newspaper that was the target of an attack this week in Nuevo Laredo will publish a letter today to its readers – among them drug traffickers – announcing that it will serve the community and not be a tool of two warring cartels.

The unusual letter comes two days after masked assailants barged into the offices of El Mañana newspaper – across the Rio Grande from Laredo – and opened fire, critically injuring a veteran reporter.

"El Mañana strictly belongs to the society of Nuevo Laredo and does not serve, nor will it serve, as an instrument for other interests," the editorial says. "To avoid any infiltrations we have decided to suspend any publication of anything that has to do with the war taking place in Nuevo Laredo. We will also limit information of the incidents [related to the drug war] to the police pages."

A U.S. law enforcement official warned that the violence against journalists in Nuevo Laredo is likely to continue as a way to "settle old scores with some reporters."

Such "spectacular events," the U.S. official said, also draw attention away from the coastal state of Guerrero, where rival cartels are waging a battle for control of Acapulco.

"We're seeing desperation on the part of these drug cartels and new strategies," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "As a result we may be seeing an escalation of violence against reporters."

The U.S. official suggested that the attack against El Mañana "likely was ordered by the Sinaloa cartel. They have the most to gain here."

The brazen assault Monday evening was the first known direct attack on the offices of a news organization.

The injured reporter, Jaime Orozco Tey, remained in critical condition at a local hospital, said Ramón Cantú Deandar, editor of El Mañana. The reporter was hit five times by bullets, police said. Other reporters and editors received minor wounds from flying glass and debris.

The owners of El Mañana will conduct their own investigation to determine whether recent stories may have led to the attack, Mr. Cantú said.

The newspaper's employees have been attacked before.

Two years ago, El Mañana's editor, Roberto Mora, was stabbed to death. His killing remains under investigation. Following Mr. Mora's death, Mr. Cantú took the extraordinary measure of "self-censoring" his news staff, often killing stories that could have rankled cartels "or make them uncomfortable," he said.

The latest editorial formalizes that policy for the public, Mr. Cantú said.

"We want them to understand our limitations," he said.

In a city where reporters work in fear and sometimes receive instructions on how to write or where to place "sensitive" stories about cartels from spokesmen for the drug groups, the new policy makes sense, Mr. Cantú said.

"What choice do we have when the government has neither the will nor know-how on how to control these people?" Mr. Cantú said. "In Mexico, organized crime is above the law. We have no choice but to take these measures in order to protect the lives of our reporters. It's that simple."

Email acorchado@dallasnews.com