The heartless murder of Diario de Juarez reporter Armando Rodriguez in front of his daughter today is as sad as it is ominous for the people of Ciudad Juarez and the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Rodriguez was, by all accounts, a dedicated journalist whose job brought him perilously close to the crime world in Juarez and to the war between two drug cartels that have brought that city to its knees.

To the members of the El Paso Press Club, this assassination of an innocent colleague in our neighbor city represents a new low in a ruthless war over drugs, money and power.

Those behind Rodriguez's death clearly intended to frighten journalists, newspapers and electronic news outlets into avoiding coverage of crime and terrorism by the cartels.

We hope it doesn't work. If anything, this terrorist act should lead to more intense coverage of Mexico's drug war by news organizations in the United States, Mexico and Latin America.

We hope it will also awaken leaders and governments on both sides of the border about the seriousness of a struggle that is chipping away at the stability of Mexico as a nation.

Contacts:
David Crowder
President
(915) 351-0605
Gustavo Reveles Acosta
Vice-President
(915) 546-6133

* * *


The National Association of Hispanic Journalists condemns the killing of crime reporter Armando Rodríguez of the Mexican newspaper El Diario de Juárez outside his home in Ciudad Juárez on Thursday morning, and calls on society and authorities to stand strong against the violence that seeks to silence a free press.

The veteran reporter was gunned down in front of his daughter as he was preparing to take her to school. According to press accounts, the gunman walked up to his car in that city across the border from El Paso , Texas , fired, and then fled with other men in a car waiting nearby.

NAHJ decries Rodriguez's violent murder as part of the growing wave of terror by those who wish to silence the truth.

"Armando Rodriguez was a hard-working journalist and a family man," said Elizabeth Zavala, NAHJ's vice-president for print, who is deputy city editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "His tragic loss serves as a reminder to those journalists who embrace seeking the truth and reporting it accurately and fairly that our jobs are not easy and many times are dangerous.

"Journalists of Rodriguez's caliber will not shy away from reporting the truth; this only makes our mission even stronger."

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, powerful drug cartels and escalating violence associated with criminal groups have made Mexico one of the deadliest countries for reporters worldwide. The Committee has found that since 2000, 24 journalists--including Rodríguez--have been killed, at least seven in direct reprisal for their work. Seven journalists have also disappeared in Mexico since 2005.

NAHJ joins in solidarity with reporters on both sides of the border who continue to risk their lives to chronicle the violence that is gripping Mexico and leading to greater impact on untold families in both countries.

NAHJ further urges the Mexican government to investigate the violent murder of Rodríguez and other colleagues who have been killed or who have disappeared, and to recognize that an assault on the press represents an attack on Mexico 's democracy and on all of society, including segments of the United States .

Iván Román
Executive Director
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
1000 National Press Building
529 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20045-2001
(202) 662-7178
( 202) 662-7144 (fax)
iroman@nahj.org