MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador yesterday accused United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken of “interfering” after he called for greater accountability over a string of journalist murders.
The rare public spat with US President Joe Biden’s administration follows the killing of at least five media workers already this year, in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for reporters.
“The high number of journalists killed in Mexico this year and the ongoing threats they face are concerning,” Blinken tweeted late Tuesday.
“I join those calling for greater accountability and protection for Mexican journalists. My heart goes out to the loved ones of those who gave their lives for the truth,” he added.
In response, Lopez Obrador urged Blinken “to inform yourself and not to act in an interfering manner because Mexico is not a colony of the United States, nor is it a protectorate”.
He told reporters he thought Blinken was “misinformed because otherwise he would be acting in bad faith” and insisted that the Mexican government was dealing with crimes against journalists.
“In all cases, action is being taken. There is no impunity,” Lopez Obrador said, adding that he had asked his foreign minister to send Blinken details of all the cases and the government’s actions.
The country’s foreign minister then shared a letter on Twitter addressed to his US counterpart, in which he detailed the investigations into those crimes, while stressing that his government could only hold accountable “Mexican citizens and Mexican institutions”.
He then raised the problem of arms trafficking from the US, which the document argued, “are used in most of the homicides committed in Mexico and that, presumably, were also used against journalists”.
Mexico has maintained cordial relations with Biden’s administration, although there has been friction on certain issues such as Lopez Obrador’s planned energy sector reforms.
The Latin American nation is on course for one of its deadliest years yet for the press, prompting calls from media rights groups for authorities to end a culture of impunity.
Around 150 journalists have been murdered in Mexico since 2000, and only a fraction of the crimes have resulted in convictions, according to watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
RSF said yesterday that it is looking into whether the suspected murder of a television presenter whose body was found in a rural area of Mexico City was linked to her journalism.
Mexican media named her as Michell Perez Tadeo, a 29-year-old single mother who was also a model and actress.
The Mexico City prosecutor’s office said its femicide investigation team is in charge of the case and various lines of inquiry are being pursued. – AFP, February 24, 2022
