Gunmen Kidnap, Torture Mexican Journalist as a ‘Warning’

A group of cartel gunmen kidnapped and tortured a well-known journalist in Mexico who dared to write a column about the impunity with which drug lords lived in his state. The gunmen held the journalist for two days while they tortured him and questioned him before releasing him with a warning.

The incident began on Monday afternoon when Jaime Barrera Rodriguez, one of the most famous journalists in the state of Jalisco, was leaving his job at a local radio station on his way to his office at a local TV station for the night newscast when a group of gunmen kidnapped him at gunpoint in the city of Zapopan.

Soon after the kidnapping, Jalisco State Governor Enrique Alfaro made the incident public and revealed he was personally overseeing the issue.

Hace unos momentos me informaron que el periodista Jaime Barrera no había ido a su noticiero y que desde el mediodía su familia no lo localizaba. A partir de esa información estamos atentos y concentrados en dar con su paradero. Personalmente, estoy atendiendo el tema y todas las…

— Enrique Alfaro (@EnriqueAlfaroR) March 12, 2024

By Wednesday morning, the gunmen released Barrera, who then called for help. State and federal authorities responded to the journalist’s location and continued their investigation. Alfaro announced the release and held a news conference where he provided additional details about the case.

Sobre la localización del periodista Jaime Barrera, escucha #EnVivo esta rueda de prensa junto a medios de comunicación: https://t.co/P7WRHjGupy

— Enrique Alfaro (@EnriqueAlfaroR) March 13, 2024

Soon after his release, Barrera spoke with various journalists, and he claimed that the kidnapping was not for ransom but was actually a warning. He contended that gunmen tied him up and beat him with a paddle as they questioned him about his stories.

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In a radio interview, Barrera claimed they asked him if he wrote under someone’s orders and why he wrote what he wrote.

#AzucenaxFórmula | A Jaime Barrera lo vendaron, esposaron y tablearon… le cuestionaban: “¿por qué escribes lo que escribes?, ¿Bajo la orden de quién?”

Barrera regresará el lunes a trabajar, sin embargo, pedirá que le brinden seguridad.

Aquí lo qué me dijo pic.twitter.com/5eAfQMeZwr

— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) March 13, 2024

According to Mexico’s El Universal, a possible reason for the kidnapping could have been over his most recent column where he criticized the government’s apparent lack of urgency in capturing the leadership of Cartel Jalisco New Generation and how in certain towns the group’s main leader Nemesion “El Mencho” Oseguera is welcomed with open arms even by public officials.

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.