Thread: KILLINGS TARGET BLOGGERS

Bodies hanging from bridge in Mexico are warning to social media users

By the CNN Wire Staff
September 14, 2011 -- Updated 1641 GMT (0041 HKT)

(CNN) -- It was a chilling message: two bodies with signs of torture found hanging from a pedestrian bridge in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Two posters left near the bodies declared that the pair -- a young man and woman -- were killed for denouncing drug cartel activity on a social network.

Bloggers who specialize in sharing news about trafficking have been threatened in the past, but this could be the first time that users of such social networks have been targeted.

The effect of such threats could be chilling, as several areas in Mexico -- including Nuevo Laredo -- have media outlets that self-censor out of fear of retribution by the cartels. In light of this censorship, blogs and social networks such as Twitter have surged as alternatives to keep citizens informed of dangers in their community.

Now the users of those networks appear to be under threat.

Even police were not commenting on the two bodies. Information about the incident came from what a reporter witnessed himself.

Tuesday morning, commuters spotted the man hanging by his hands, and the woman hanging by her hands and feet, her body in a "U" shape.

The placards threatened those who report violent incidents through social media networks. It lists two blogs by name, Al Rojo Vivo, and Blog del Narco.

"This happens for... denouncing," one of the signs said.

They were signed "Z," a possible reference for the Zetas cartel, which operates in the area.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/ameri ... .violence/