CARTELS USE INTIMIDATION CAMPAIGN TO STIFLE NEWS COVERAGE IN MEXICO

REYNOSA, Mexico - In the days since a long-simmering dispute erupted
into open warfare between the Gulf drug cartel and its former
enforcers, the Zetas, censorship of news developments has reached
unprecedented dimensions along much of Mexico's border with Texas. A
virtual news blackout has been imposed, several sources said,
enforced by threats, abductions and attacks against journalists.

In the past 14 days, at least eight Mexican journalists have been
abducted in the Reynosa area, which is across the border from
McAllen. One died after a severe beating, according to reports that
could not be independently verified. Two were released by their
captors. The rest are missing.

Even by the vicious standards of Mexico's drug cartels, which have
made Mexico one of the most dangerous countries in the world for
journalists, the intimidation campaign is more far-reaching - and
more effective - than other attempts to squelch media coverage of
cartel activities, industry and law enforcement sources say. It is
virtually impossible to safely report or verify, or even ask questions.

"We are under a virtual gag order," said Jorge Lums Sierra, a
freelance journalist and researcher who lives in McAllen. "We live in silence."

Meanwhile, the unfolding war between the Zetas and the Gulf cartel,
reportedly backed by gunmen from other Mexican cartels, has resulted
in hundreds of deaths in recent days in the states of Tamaulipas and
parts of Nuevo Lesn, according to a U.S. intelligence official,
speaking on condition of anonymity.

"More than 200 in just the past 14 days," the official said.

There has been no official estimate of the number of casualties in
the recent fighting.

The official also said that cartel members had set up checkpoints on
roads into Reynosa and other towns along the border and were checking vehicles.

Self-Censorship

For years, the Gulf cartel has used this Mexican border region across
from Texas as its smuggling base. But unlike other Mexican border
areas coping with drug violence - such as Ciudad Juarez, where news
coverage includes daily updates of the death toll - coverage of
cartel activity is largely nonexistent in Gulf cartel country.

Media executives lament the self-censorship but insist they have no choice.

Said one high-ranking editor: "We're trying to sell credibility, but
where is our credibility? And what choice do we have when no one from
the local, state or federal government can protect us?"

A radio reporter, Jorge Rabago, died late last week after a severe
beating, journalists said.

Missing Journalists

The five missing journalists are a reporter from El Maqana, the
largest news organization in the area; a freelance photographer from
La Tarde, the afternoon edition of El Maqana; two journalists from an
online service, and a TV cameraman, according to editors and
reporters who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing daily threats.

One television reporter, Miguel Turriza of Cablecom TV, was doing an
on-camera standup report when a gunbattle erupted several weeks ago,
sending the reporter to his knees and crawling on the ground, looking
for cover.

Some state and local government officials - possibly with an eye
toward self-protection - have downplayed the situation. Tamaulipas
Gov. Eugenio Hernandez blamed fears on "collective paranoia."

The result has been an angry response from residents and the rise of
"citizen journalism."

A woman in the nearby border town of Camargo used her phone camera to
record about six minutes of video, which was posted on YouTube. The
video showed bullet-riddled SUVs and what appeared to be the bodies
of two men, the casings of hundreds of high-powered bullets on the
ground, as well as an abandoned gas station, an empty convenience
store, and soldiers at the scene of the shooting. The video also
showed nearly deserted streets and what the woman describes as cut
telephone and television lines.

'Look for Yourself'

"The government says it is paranoia, a lie?" asked the woman, who
didn't identify herself in the video. "Look for yourself, look at the
empty streets. ... We don't even have garbage pickup."

She said that about 20 grenades had exploded overnight recently and
that residents are fearful with "dry lips. No one even goes out to
buy a kilo of tortillas anymore."

Other residents are filling the media void through an avalanche of
messages on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube. One online posting contains about two minutes of recorded
audio of high-powered gunfire and grenades exploding.

"We're not crazy; we're not paranoid," said Pilar Rammrez, who was
waiting outside a school for her son. "Not when you can witness
bullets, gunbattles in our city."

Like many other parents, Rammrez kept her son home from school for
several days because she was afraid of the possibility of crossfire
near the Miguel Hidalgo elementary school in downtown Reynosa. Some
schools reported absenteeism at 80 percent. The principal at Miguel
Hidalgo said it was 30 percent there, to which Rammrez shook her head
incredulously.

Thousands of people, including Patrmcia Bocanegra, have sought
temporary shelter on the U.S. side, according to the U.S.
intelligence official.

"No one wants to admit a thing," Bocanegra said. "They act like we're
imagining things."

Safety Evaporating

In recent days, Reynosa's municipal government opened a Twitter
account to inform residents of what streets are safe.

Even for those in the national and international media trying to
report, the task is daunting. A reporter and cameraman from Milenio
TV in Mexico City had been reporting for four days when suspected
members of a drug cartel abducted them, beat them up, interrogated
them and let them go with a warning. The crew took the first flight
back to Mexico City.

News director Ciro Gsmez Leyva, who sent the crew to Reynosa, wrote
in a column: "Every day in more regions in Mexico it is impossible to
do reporting. Journalism is dead in Reynosa, etcetera. I have nothing
else to say."

Last week, a crew from Belo Television and a reporter for The Dallas
Morning News were working in Reynosa. A stranger in jeans and a white
and blue shirt approached the reporter and said: "You have no
permission to report here. It's best you leave now."