Gunmen attacked a National Geographic journalist during an interview with a drug dealer in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. After the shooting, authorities escorted the journalist and his team from the drug den to an international bridge where U.S. consular officials helped them cross the border into El Paso, Texas.
Information released by the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office revealed that the shooting took place Friday night in the Villa de Olivos neighborhood while the journalist from National Geographic carried out an interview in a drug den or “picadero.” During the attack, the journalist sustained a gunshot wound to his leg. The drug dealer being interviewed died from multiple gunshot wounds. Authorities responded to the scene of the attack and rushed the wounded journalist to a local hospital. Others provided security to three other members of the film crew.
State officials did not identify the criminal organization behind the attack.
According to El Diario de Juarez, the journalists had previously been to the headquarters of the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office for an interview on drug trafficking. The crew did not alert authorities about their planned trip to the drug den where the shooting took place. Just months before, two drug traffickers died during a shooting in that same drug den.
Chihuahua State authorities provided security to the journalists at a local hospital. U.S. consular officials worked with Mexican federal authorities to get the journalist to an international bridge so they could return to Texas.
The shooting in Ciudad Juarez comes less than a month after a videographer for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel died in the beach resort area of Acapulco during a robbery gone wrong, Breitbart Texas reported.
In addition to the murdered Nat Geo videographer, Mexico has seen 13 murdered journalists or media workers since December 2018 when current Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the perpetrators of violence against the journalists almost always escape justice.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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