WATCH: Mexican Cartel Issues Death Threat to TV Anchor
The leadership of one of Mexico’s most violent cartels issued a direct threat to a national news anchor, claiming her coverage favored their rivals. The journalist responded, saying she will continue doing her job without self-censorship.
In a video shared widely on social media in Mexico, a masked man claiming to be Ruben “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes issued a direct threat against Azucena Uresti, a TV anchor with Milenio Television and Grupo Multimedios Radio.
In the video, a man claiming to be El Mencho is wearing a mask at a table surrounded by six men brandishing rifles, machine guns, and grenade launchers. The cartel boss claimed that through her reporting, Uresti portrayed various cartel bosses from Michoacan as self-defense groups when in reality they are ruthless crime lords.
The cartel boss specifically names Uresti, comparing her to a prostitute who cannot hide from the organization.
The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement condemning the threats and and requested protection for Uresti.
A spokesman for Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador issued a statement claiming the federal government would be taking the needed measures to protect Uresti and her outlet.
Uresti has since made public statements claiming that she will continue her work without any restraints and thanked authorities for their prompt responses. On social media, Uresti made no mention of the threats.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ 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 Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Mexican president plans to ask Harris for southern border to reopen 'completely'
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a planned phone call on Monday with Vice President Kamala Harris he would urge the United States to reopen the two countries' shared southern border "completely."
The pair of leaders would also, hopefully, discuss migration and new COVID-19 vaccine donations from the U.S., AMLO said.
“I have a call today with Vice President Kamala Harris. We are going to give continuity to the agenda that we have in common on migration issues, of course, the issue of opening the border, the support that they have been giving us, and that we thank you very much for having enough vaccines in our country," AMLO said in a press conference in Ciudad Juarez, south of El Paso, Texas. Coronavirus cases have spiked in the U.S. and Mexico as new, more transmissible variants continue to spread.
A White House official confirmed the call between Harris and AMLO but did not say whether Harris planned to discuss a new shipment of vaccinations with the Mexican leader. The U.S. government provided 1.35 billion Johnson & Johnson vaccines to Mexico in June, which health authorities vowed to use to vaccinate people living in border states.
"Today, Vice President Harris will speak with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico. Following the call, the office of the vice president will provide a readout," the official said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
Mexican officials have urged Washington to reopen the border as soon as possible to allow business to resume between the two countries. But high coronavirus rates have delayed the prospect. Border crossings deemed nonessential have been off-limits since March 2020.
“It must be said that the border is open, not completely, but it has never been completely closed. However, we need to open this one, and it is an issue that we are going to discuss today," AMLO said.
In remarks one day earlier, AMLO appeared to preview new COVID-19 vaccine shipments from the U.S., stating, "There are commitments for us to have more vaccines, provided by the United States government."
"We're going to talk on Monday in order to keep working on our joint agenda of collaboration," he added.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the Title 42 rule that allows migrants to be expelled from the country due to COVID-19 concerns.
Harris was tasked with addressing the so-called root causes of migration from Central America to the southern border, a political liability for Democrats and the Biden administration who have so far failed to wrest control of the numbers. The swell of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border has reached a two-decade high.
Mexican drug cartel threatens to kill TV reporter
Men claiming to speak for Mexico's most powerful drug cartel have released a video threatening to murder a prominent female news anchor over what they deem to be unfair coverage.
The warning was made by a man who said it was on behalf of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG).
He complained that Milenio Television was favouring so-called self-defence groups organised to resist the CJNG.
In the video, journalist Azucena Uresti is threatened directly.
"I will make you eat your words even if they accuse me of femicide," the masked speaker, who is surrounded by six heavily armed men, warns.
He accuses Ms Uresti and the Milenio network of being biased in their coverage of the battle between the cartel and vigilante groups.
Ms Uresti is one of the best-known TV anchors in Mexico and presents Milenio TV's nightly news programme.
She gained further visibility when she anchored some of the presidential debates ahead of the 2018 election and was widely praised for her questions to the candidates.
Groups representing journalists have come out in her support and demanded that the government offer her protection.
Speaking during his daily morning news conference, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that Ms Uresti "was not alone".
The president said the threatened journalist "could count on us" without providing further details of what the government would do to protect her.
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. But while attacks on local reporters are common, such public warnings are rare.
In the past weeks, there have been fierce battles between members of the CJGN and vigilante groups in the state of Michoacán for control of the region west of the capital, Mexico City.
The vigilantes say they have taken up arms to defend themselves against the cartel whose leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, is one of the country's most-wanted men. The US is offering a $10m (£7.2m) reward for information leading to his capture.
But the groups are controversial. Some analysts say they often turn criminal themselves or act as a cover for rival criminal groups.
The area has been the scene of clashes between vigilantes and gangs for years but in recent weeks the gun battles have been particularly fierce and sometimes lasted for days.
Ms Uresti interviewed one of the vigilantes involved in the fight for control of the town of Ecatepec earlier this month.
The vigilante alleged that the CJNG would "kill everyone" in the town if they managed to defeat those defending it.
But in the video, the masked man alleges that the vigilante groups are in fact drug traffickers themselves and extort money from the local population.
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