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Mexico rescues two kidnapped journalists in drug gang row
Added At: 2010-08-01 1:49 PM
Last Updated At: 2010-08-01 1:49 PM
AFP
A Mexican Federal police officer takes care of Televisa cameraman Alejandro Hernandez Pacheco after his rescue from his kidnappers in Durango, Mexico.
AFP
MEXICO CITY: Police Saturday rescued two journalists the Pacifico drug cartel had kidnapped days ago to demand television stations broadcast a video linking the Durango state government to a rival drug gang, officials said.
The two reporters, one of them a cameraman for Televisa, were rescued by police without firing a shot from a house in Durango state capital, Secretary of Public Security Garcia Luna told a press briefing.
He said the kidnappers managed to escape during the police raid.
Run by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most wanted criminal, the Pacifico drug cartel on Monday kidnapped four journalists from different media, two of whom were released by their captors later in the week, Luna said.
The criminals were demanding that televisions broadcast a video on alleged corruption linking the Durango government with the Zetas, a rival drug cartel formed by former military and hitmen who worked for Guzman.
The television stations during the kidnapping held moments of silence, with blank screens, during news broadcasts to raise awareness about what was happening.
Both rescued journalists gave account of their harrowing experience in a Televisa interview alongside Luna.
"They intimidated us night and day... we've got the signs to prove it," said the Alejandro Hernandez showing a gash on his head where he said a kidnapper had hit him with a board.
The Inter-American Press Association lists Mexico as the Latin America's most dangerous country for journalists, with nine murdered so far this year.
Around 25,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown on violence across the country; some 7,000 people have been murdered since the start of the year.
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