Pubdate: Thu, 10 Feb 2005
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Copyright: 2005 San Antonio Express-News
Contact:  http://www.mysanantonio.com/expressnews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/384
Author: Jesse Bogan, Express-News Border Bureau

REPORTER PART OF DEADLY BORDER STORY

LAREDO ---- A television reporter is in hiding after producing a story that 
named individuals said to be involved in the disappearances of Americans in 
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Gunmen riddled the reporter's parked car with bullets three days after the 
Televisa report, which featured a hooded informant accusing alleged members 
of the Gulf Cartel, a gang believed to control the drug trade in the border 
cities of Matamoros, Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo.

The masked source said the cartel's enforcement arm, a paramilitary group 
called the "Zetas," has Nuevo Laredo divided into quadrants, communicating 
by radio.

He said the group is backed by municipal police and has an informant 
planted with the Mexican army stationed in the city.

An FBI official in Laredo confirmed the general accuracy of the TV report, 
which included information about captives being fed to lions.

In fear of retaliation, Mexican reporters typically don't name those 
involved in the drug war. Business owners often criticize the media for 
exaggerating the violence, but the attention is also being credited by a 
relative of one missing American here as the best way to put pressure on 
the drug gangs.

At least 25 U.S. citizens have disappeared in Nuevo Laredo since August. 
About a dozen have been released, two have been found dead and the 
remaining still are missing.

U.S. government warnings about the violence have drawn media attention from 
across the United States. International news organizations also are sending 
reporters here.

Jorge Cardona, 30, a reporter for Televisa Monterrey, wasn't injured in the 
early morning shooting Monday in front of his home in Monterrey, a 2-hour 
drive from here.

"We gave him some time to rest," said Francisco Cobos, news director at 
Televisa Monterrey. "For his protection, we decided to put him in a house 
that nobody knows about."

The shooting happened at 5:45 a.m. ---- when Cardona usually leaves for 
work ---- but on Monday he had the day off, Cobos said.

"The shooting possibly happened because of the story, but we don't know," 
Cobos said.

Aldo Fasci, assistant state prosecutor for the state of Nuevo Leon, said by 
phone Wednesday that there are two lines of investigation, "related to his 
work, and that's all we can say."

Televisa's story about Nuevo Laredo aired in two parts last week, ending 
Friday.

The masked source mentioned names and nicknames of people he said were the 
cartel's top street leaders in Nuevo Laredo.

Then the masked man described a network of "halcones," or lookouts, who 
drive the streets, monitoring the city for the cartel.

"Lookouts are surrounding the city, checking who is coming and going while 
communicating with the municipal police," he said, adding that an informant 
with the Mexican army stationed here advises the group about immediate 
military raids or possible arrests.

"They have lions," the man said. "They throw (captives) to the lions."

Art Fuentes, an FBI agent in Laredo, saw a copy of the footage Wednesday.

"The information on that video is consistent with what has been reported to 
us," said Fuentes, adding that he's not at liberty to discuss any ongoing 
investigations.

The agency monitors the drug violence but actively investigates cases 
involving Americans being held for ransom.

A spokesman for Nuevo Laredo Mayor Daniel Pena, who took office in January, 
downplayed the accusations and gave a response common among border 
officials when discussing organized drug gangs.

"Until now, the police in charge of prevention haven't encountered any 
types of crime like they are saying" in the report, spokesman Marcos Manuel 
Rodriguez Leija said.

At least 14 municipal police officers have been killed in Nuevo Laredo 
since 2001. Many others have disappeared.

Rodriguez, the spokesman, said: "A large part of the municipal police has 
been restructured. High school diplomas are required of officers as well as 
psychological exams."

Meanwhile, disturbing news reports are likely to continue.

William Slemaker, the step-father of Yvette Martinez, 27, who disappeared 
Sept. 17 with her friend Brenda Cisneros, 23, both of Laredo, after a Pepe 
Aguilar concert across the Rio Grande in Nuevo Laredo, has been interviewed 
almost daily in the past few months, especially after reports by the New 
York Times and the Washington Post.

"We are hoping the people who have our daughter will get tired of all the 
news coverage and give her back so we will shut up," Slemaker said.

He said reporters from Germany and the BBC are coming to Laredo next week.
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