Press Release

NAHJ Condemns Murder of Journalist in Ciudad Juárez

Media Contact: Iván Román, (202) 662-7178

Armando Rodríguez (Photo from: El Diario de Juarez)

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.

Members of El Paso Press Club issued a statement that the assassination of an innocent colleague in their neighboring city represents a new low in a war over drugs, money and power.

“Those behind Rodríguez’s death clearly intended to frighten journalists, newspapers and electronic news outlets into avoiding coverage of crime and terrorism by cartels,” the El Paso Press Club statement said. “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.”

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.