Mexico
No hope of finding missing journalists alivePosted Jul 20 2007
TV Azteca has “given up hope” of finding two missing journalists alive, News Director Alfonso Teja says. “The anti-kidnapping unit that was investigating their disappearance has abandoned the case,” he told the Agence France-Presse.
Reporter Gamaliel Lopez and cameraman Gerardo Paredes disappeared May 10 in the state of Nuevo Leon. This area is especially exposed to drug trafficking and organized crime, which Reporters Without Borders says might be behind the disappearances.
For the last six months, Lopez reported on the violence in the region, particularly in relation to the national army's presence there, and he had a regular slot on the local television station where he opposed the practices of several public officials.