National Geographic Journalist Shot in Mexico

News

A National Geographic journalist suffered a gunshot wound to the leg when a rival gang opened fire during an interview with a suspected drug trafficker, the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office stated in a Friday press release.

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Reported by

Jason Seter
October 7th, 2019
Cartels Murder

The interview was conducted in a house where drug sales had previously occurred. The shooters killed the alleged criminal and forced the journalist and the recording crew to seek cover. The reporter received treatment at a nearby hospital. 

Two traffickers had also been killed in the same location several months ago. 

The drug trade has ravaged Mexico in recent years. Over 200 trafficking cells exist in the country, and since 2006 approximately 150,000 people have perished due to organized crime, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Organized crime in Mexico is closely linked to political corruption, as cartels murdered 130 politicians and office seekers before the 2018 presidential election.

The United States remains a huge consumer of illicit drugs produced in Latin America. “Drug poisoning deaths are the leading cause of injury death in the United States; they are currently at their highest ever recorded level and, every year since 2011, have outnumbered deaths by firearms, motor vehicle crashes, suicide, and homicide” according to the 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment, released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Moreover, Mexico remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the Western Hemisphere, according to Reporters Without Borders. In 2019 alone, a dozen journalists have been killed, per an August report from Mexico's National Human Rights Commission.

Edit: A previous version of this story stated that five journalists have been killed in Mexico in 2019. The article has been revised to account for the total number of journalists actually killed in the country this year. 

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