Mexican journalist to ask judge for US asylum

[Derechos]

EL PASO, Texas — A journalist from Mexico who said he fled across the border with his 15-year-old son after receiving death threats for his critical coverage of the military in his country's bloody drug war arrived at a federal court Friday to plead his case for U.S. asylum.

Emilio Gutierrez Soto and immigration officials declined to comment before entering the closed courtroom. It was unclear how long the proceedings will take, and the judge may not immediately make a ruling once they are complete.

Gutierrez and his son showed up at a border checkpoint in New Mexico in June 2008 and declared their intent to seek asylum. He said his life was threatened nearly every day for more than two years after he wrote a series of stories accusing the military of abusing civilians in its search for drug cartel members.

Gutierrez's court date comes four months after another Mexican journalist, Jorge Luis Aguirre, claimed similar threats and had his U.S. asylum request granted – making him the first reporter to receive asylum since Mexico's bloody drug war erupted and cartels began targeting the media to silence coverage.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110121/us-border-violence-asylum/

[Peace Patriot]

1. "...since Mexico's bloody drug war erupted." Sounds so passive--as if billions of U.S. tax dollars

in war profiteer "aid" to Mexico were not driving this "war."

I figure the Bush Cartel--which larded all this military aid on Mexico--has a big oar in this excessively corrupt scene. Maybe an independent cartel was making headway against them? In any case, if Iraq is any guide, mayhem is their preferred method for stealing resources and seeking world domination.

Couple of years ago, Mexico came with a hair's breadth--0.05%--of electing a leftist president. Lots of evidence of fraud in that election, which put Bush Jr. pal, Felipe Calderon, in office, probably with instructions to privatize Mexico's constitutionally protected oil. Opposition is so great to that in Mexico, that he hasn't yet been able to do it. So this may be--in fact very likely is--an alternative plan. Mayhem. Fear. Terror. And a chance to monopolize the drug trade as well.

Journalism is just one casualty of U.S.-induced "war on drugs" corruption and mayhem. I hope Gutierrez finds an honest judge. But his fate may depend on whether or not his investigations have touched on the DEA or other U.S. operatives/profiteers. If he has limited it to Mexican corruption, he might have a chance.

[naaman fletcher]

3. While I agree with the rest of your post

PEMEX is a total and complete disaster.

[EFerrari]

2. Charles Bowden talks about a similar story

in an interview for the new book, Murder City.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/MurderC