NUEVO LAREDO PAPER TO LIMIT DRUG WAR COVERAGE

After Attack On Offices, Editorial To Address Community, Cartels

The editorial board of a Mexican newspaper that was the target of an
attack this week in Nuevo Laredo will publish a letter today to its
readers - among them drug traffickers - announcing that it will serve
the community and not be a tool of two warring cartels.

The unusual letter comes two days after masked assailants barged into
the offices of El Manana newspaper - across the Rio Grande from
Laredo - and opened fire, critically injuring a veteran reporter.

"El Manana strictly belongs to the society of Nuevo Laredo and does
not serve, nor will it serve, as an instrument for other interests,"
the editorial says. "To avoid any infiltrations we have decided to
suspend any publication of anything that has to do with the war
taking place in Nuevo Laredo. We will also limit information of the
incidents [related to the drug war] to the police pages."

A U.S. law enforcement official warned that the violence against
journalists in Nuevo Laredo is likely to continue as a way to "settle
old scores with some reporters."

Such "spectacular events," the U.S. official said, also draw
attention away from the coastal state of Guerrero, where rival
cartels are waging a battle for control of Acapulco.

"We're seeing desperation on the part of these drug cartels and new
strategies," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"As a result we may be seeing an escalation of violence against reporters."

The U.S. official suggested that the attack against El Manana "likely
was ordered by the Sinaloa cartel. They have the most to gain here."

The brazen assault Monday evening was the first known direct attack
on the offices of a news organization.

The injured reporter, Jaime Orozco Tey, remained in critical
condition at a local hospital, said Ramon Cantu Deandar, editor of El
Manana. The reporter was hit five times by bullets, police said.
Other reporters and editors received minor wounds from flying glass and debris.

The owners of El Manana will conduct their own investigation to
determine whether recent stories may have led to the attack, Mr. Cantu said.

The newspaper's employees have been attacked before.

Two years ago, El Manana's editor, Roberto Mora, was stabbed to
death. His killing remains under investigation. Following Mr. Mora's
death, Mr. Cantu took the extraordinary measure of "self-censoring"
his news staff, often killing stories that could have rankled cartels
"or make them uncomfortable," he said.

The latest editorial formalizes that policy for the public, Mr. Cantu said.

"We want them to understand our limitations," he said.

In a city where reporters work in fear and sometimes receive
instructions on how to write or where to place "sensitive" stories
about cartels from spokesmen for the drug groups, the new policy
makes sense, Mr. Cantu said.

"What choice do we have when the government has neither the will nor
know-how on how to control these people?" Mr. Cantu said. "In Mexico,
organized crime is above the law. We have no choice but to take these
measures in order to protect the lives of our reporters. It's that simple."