A request for comment sent to an address on the Valor por Tamaulipas Facebook page went unanswered. Many journalists and bloggers have “in some way … a relationship with Valor por Tamaulipas,” the reporter who spoke to CPJ said.
But what the criminals don’t know is that Miut3 is in our soul and she would never surrender us to organized crime.” Valor por Tamaulipas also showed threatening tweets from October 8 posted in Miut3’s timeline, warning, “We’re getting close to many of you (so) be careful felina.” Valor por Tamaulipas posted a statement after Fuentes’s kidnapping, saying: “Miut3 stopped reporting today. Leaflets were distributed last year in Tamaulipas offering a 600,000 peso ($44,000) reward for information on the identities of those working with Valor por Tamaulipas, according to news reports. The director did not reveal his or her name due to security concerns. The director of the Facebook page Valor por Tamaulipas, which publishes information on insecurity in the state, told The Associated Press that in addition to her work on Twitter, Fuentes was previously a contributor, but she stopped collaborating in 2013 for safety reasons. Screenshot courtesy of Valor por Tamaulipas. Fuentes was previously a contributor, but she stopped collaborating in 2013 for safety reasons, according to a representative. The Valor por Tamaulipas Facebook page publishes information on insecurity in Mexico. “If you value your family, value your life, you can’t do it.” Ongoing Investigations “Doing journalism… as it should be done is like playing Russian roulette,” the reporter told CPJ. The number of journalists, bloggers and concerned citizens actively reporting events - like Fuentes did - is low because most prefer not to run the risk. The reporter was familiar with Fuentes’s work and called her “well informed.” Many people use social media in the state to spread and receive information about security and crime, the source said, but most contribute in a sporadic way. “It’s now a fine line between the two,” the reporter, who has worked in newspapers and contributed news reports to social media sites, said. Complicating matters more are suspicions of cartel and government cooperation. “The cartels have an information officer and they work through a person in the press that is colluding with them,” a reporter, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told CPJ. Observers say the situation of alleged government collusion with crime and cartels controlling the press remains somewhat the same, even if the cartels’ leaderships have changed. You won’t see that story in the local press. A 2010 CPJ report from Reynosa stated: “The Gulf criminal group controls the government, the police, even the street vendors. Reliable reporting is rare in Tamaulipas, as most traditional media outlets in the state are either controlled or cowed by organized crime, and reporters are required in some cases to write stories the cartels want published - or keep quiet on others , journalists who have spoken with CPJ said. Both cartels have been hit hard by the capture of senior leaders, but security problems persist and power struggles among underlings have broken out. Kidnap and extortion are common, along with attacks on Central American migrants transiting through Tamaulipas on their way to the U.S. Tamaulipas borders Texas and has been plagued by drug violence over the past decade as the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas (its former armed wing) battle over a state coveted for its smuggling corridors. “They expose stuff that makes national news.” “They’re a sincere group of citizen journalists,” Chapa said.
Contributors have also cracked down on attempts at contaminating its information, and dealt with spammers. Chapa says information collected by Twitter users using #ReynosaFollow has proved accurate - to the point that it is picked up by national and international media outlets. #ReynosaFollow is commonly used in Reynosa, whenever events such as shootouts and narcobloqueos (cartels commandeering vehicles to block thoroughfares) are underway. Chapa told CPJ she re-tweeted his material “daily” and was among the most diligent of the “dozens” of participants using the hashtag #ReynosaFollow. A Silenced Pressįuentes was active on Twitter, where she used the handle called herself “Felina,” and adopted Catwoman as her avatar. While her kidnapping has been confirmed and Fuentes is widely reported to have been killed, her murder and possible motive have not been officially confirmed.