Pres. Caldero says: Gov't don't negotiate with criminals

This statement was issued in reaction to an editorial published by El Diario de Juarez proposing a truce with cartels who believed to have been responsible for the killing one of their journalists. Even the tone of the editorial seems to be a sort of hinting submission to the will and caprices of these drug cartels encouraging them to say what they want the newspaper would publish or not to publish.

El Diario editor Pedro Torres further justified their action by saying that they believed that the drug gangs are now the city's de facto authorities while criticizing the government for its failure to protect journalists.

It was clearly underscored by Poire that the federal government is strongly condemning those who are responsible for the deaths of journalists that would eventually the freedom of the press, and the authorities are doing its best to resolve this problem. Poire added that there is only one legitimate authority duly constituted by law and the electoral process. This governmment is the one authorized to combat crime and safeguard its citizens.

The El Diario photographer who was killed last Monday was believed to be a victim of mistaken identity, said an official of the Attorney General's office at Chihuahua state. The photographer was the second journalist who fall victim over the drug cartel wars prevailing in Ciudad Juarez.

Luis Carlos Santiago, 21 years old was killed in ambush last August 16 and the car he was driving was linked to one of the members of the Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission who already received several death threats.

This was disclosed by Alejandro Pariente Nunez, an assistant prosecutor of the said office. It was a borrowed car and the target of the killers wasn't inside the car and they supposed that the one driving it was the real owner, he added.

Santiago's companion during the said ambush, Carlos Manuel Sanchez, escaped death but seriously wounded.

Accordingly, the car was owned by the son of Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, a human rights commissioner. The won was also working as a journalist for El Diario.

De la Rosa was quoted as saying that soldiers who were assigned to patrol at Ciudad Juarez are reportedly committing crimes and human rights violations.

The war between two drug cartels have caused the death of more or less 5,000 people in Ciudad Juarez making it the most dangerous city of the world.

A total of 22 Mexican journalist were killed in the past four years and 8 of whom were real targets because they are involved in reporting crimes and corruptions, said a U.S.-based media watchdog, Committee to Protect Journalists.

The group is planning to submit their reports to Pres. Calderon. A total of at least 7 journalists were abducted and are still missing and a lot of others fled out of the country for fear of reprisal.