A Mexican border state newspaper is self-censoring and ceasing printing operations after incendiary devices burned offices and trapped employees. The publication announced it will halt crime and political corruption coverage.
The attack took place Tuesday night in Parral, when a group of unknown individuals threw several Molotov cocktails at the offices of El Monitor De Parral, the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office revealed. The news outlet has been in print for more than 68 years.
Another local newspaper, El Sol De Parral, reported that a team of men disabled a security camera and then began to throw incendiary devices into the building–starting a fire that rapidly spread throughout. The attackers managed to run away before police and firefighters arrived. Authorities managed to rescue five workers trapped inside the building. No injuries were reported.
El Monitor De Parral has not circulated any stories about the attack and instead issued a statement revealing they would stop publishing articles related to organized crime or political corruption. The paper also announced it would stop printing a daily edition for the near future and focus on online distribution.
The attack against the newspaper comes one day after authorities in the central state of Morelos found the tortured body Rogelio Barragan, a journalist for Guerrero al Instante. The victim was tortured and stuffed in the trunk of a car. Mexico continues to be one of the most dangerous countries for journalists with eight murders reported in 2019 and 10 since Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in December 2018.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.