IRE  Conference  2014 Organized  crime  &  

JournalismLessons from Northwestern Mexico

Jesús Ibarra 27/06/2014

A  low  point• Alfredo Jimenez

disappearance in 2005 set the early decline: The El Imparcial mess. !

• Two reporters have been killed in the last 4 years !

• A printed media closed its doors in 2007: Cambio

Not  just  pot  and  meth• Organized crime in Mexico & Sonora is not only

related to marijuana, cocaine and crystal

South  of  the  border• US Treasury: 8 drug king pins of ‘El Chapo’ keep the

business going in Sonora.

The  half  of  a  deadly  year• At least 338 killings dating back to June 22nd • New profiles for murders and victims

New  opportunities• Give voice to the victims !

• Hear the pulse of the community !

• Take advantage of local and federal transparency laws !

• Create your own databases, maps, & GIS !

• Try to bring people from other fields !

• Monitor crime in social media. !

• Create a professional network !

• Stop giving credit only to political sources

What  we  must  understand• Learn geopolitics, it helps a lot! !

• Be smart, don’t try to be a hero and get killed in the process. !

• Study the history of the drug business in your region. !

• Keep track of local social networks. !

• If your boss doesn’t invest in training, do it yourself. !

• Try to create business models covering organized crime online

Wide  Receiver:    ‘Let  the  guns  walk’

The  flow

Killed  out  of  jail

Army  in  the  streets

Shot  to  death  at  home

Cops  killed

Near  home

Federal  security

By  the  Zetas  

One  more  down

Out  of  the  gym

Wounded  doing  business