We may find it difficult to believe that this level of monitoring or direct pressure happens, but the reality is that it does. And of course, it is also 100% likely that she has received stories and information directly from one DTO or another. The number of hits that el Blog del Narco receives makes Lucy a very likely target for warnings and threats. I've been told directly about phone calls from narcos made directly to the authors of an article that appeared in obscure blogs warning them to be careful. Second, there is concrete evidence that the larger cartels are really monitoring the news and the internet! They ARE monitoring what appears in print and online.
Blog del narco en tamaulipas code#
Basically, the argument here is that el Blog del Narco appears in a climate of clear and imminent threat and the code for reporting crime and violence is ambiguous and amorphous as a stream of water or a murky pond. Trained journalists understand this code and recognize the danger, and they are always aware of how far they can go in reporting a story. We should recognize that Lucy la bloguera is operating in a climate and a context where everyone does think twice about what they say in public, and they are even more cautious about what they put into words. Those threats, whether specific or generalized, can come from anywhere- narcos, politicians, police and the army. But clearly, the warnings also take concrete form - News outlets have been routinely bombed, reporters have disappeared, reporters are murdered, and direct warnings are regularly conveyed to anyone who posts reports about crime and corruption that criminals and others do not want to see in print. Implied threats can carry more weight and be even more frightening than direct confrontations.
In northwest Mexico, even the slang code word to warn of impending danger, - " agua ", is as vague and indirect as most threats. Warnings and threats are not always blatant in-your-face encounters, but frequently rely on implied danger and harmful consequences. When a threat is generalized and vague it must taken seriously in Mexico. First, there a very real climate of fear surrounding the publication of any narco-news and direct threats to publishers (mainstream and informal) are well documented.