María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe

The disappearance of María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe happened 11 November 2009 when the female newspaper journalist who worked for El Diario de Zamora and El Cambio de Michoacán in Michoacán, Mexico vanished. Her disappearance may or may not be linked to her coverage of the Mexican Drug War but both Article 19 and Reporters Without Borders, two international press freedom organizations, have classified her disappearance as an act of enforced disappearance.[1]

María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe
Bornca. 1977
DisappearedNovember 11, 2009 (Age 32)
Zamora, Michoacán
StatusMissing
NationalityMexican
OccupationJournalist
EmployerNotiver, "Cambio de Michoacán", and "Diario de Zamora" (newspapers)
Known forCoverage of drug-related violence in Mexico

She is one of four journalists and the only woman to have disappeared between 2006 and 2010 in the state of Michoacán where the drug war began.[2]

Personal

María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe resided in Zamora, Michoacán, Mexico. She married police chief David Silva, a former public security director in Jacona, and had two daughters, ages eleven and thirteen.[1][3][4]

Career

María Esther Aguilar Cansimbe wrote for two Michoacán newspapers as a police reporter for El Diario de Zamora, which is an Organizacion Editorial Mexicana owned newspaper, and for the Morelia-based El Cambio de Michoacán' as its local correspondent.[4][5][6]

Aguilar was a journalist for 10 years and as a police reporter for 4 years and often dealt with the criminal underworld and corruption in local government.[3][5][7] In the months before her disappearance, she had reported on corrupt military and police officers working in conjunction with local criminal groups and the imprisonment of members of a Mexican drug cartel, which is known as La Familia Michoacana.[5][7]

Disappearance
Mexico City
Zamora
Mentioned locations within Mexico relative to the capital Mexico City.

Aguilar disappeared on 11 November 2009.[7][8] She left her home in Zamora after receiving a phone call from an unknown source.[7] All phone calls made to Aguilar's phone later failed to connect.[6] Days before her disappearance, she had published a story about the arrest of a local drug trafficker.[9] After 72 hours, her family reported her as missing to the authorities.[6] Prior to her disappearance, many of her colleagues were believed to have been bribed and intimidated by officials and drug traffickers to cease their investigative reporting. Aguilar, however, had continued to write her articles despite this.[10]

Context

The state Michoacán had become well known for its high levels of crime and government misconduct.[11]

Impact

She is one of thirty-two writers who have been murdered or declared missing after covering Mexican drug-traffickers.[12] Aguilar's disappearance is one of many that has caused outcry from the several press freedom organizations. Her case has been classified as enforced disappearance. This is covered under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance enacted by the United Nations General Assembly. The convention that has been ratified by 26 of 91 nations.[13] She is one of at least 4 journalists from Michoacán alone that have been killed or reported missing in that state.[3][6] Before Aguilar's disappearance, José Antonio García Apac went missing on 20 November 2006 and Mauricio Estrada Zamora disappeared on 12 February 2008. Five months after Aguilar's disappearance, Ramón Ángeles Zalpa, who also worked for the Cambio de Michoacán disappeared.[14][15]

Reactions

Within a week of her disappearance, the Committee to Protect Journalists had contacted authorities asking for their aid in safely locating Aguilar. Some journalists who had worked with her stated that her disappearance was directly related to her work.[5] Jesús Montejano Ramírez, the local state prosecutor, told the Milenio newspaper that an investigation was being underwent but that he could not reveal the names of any potential suspects.[5] The Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Journalists dependent on the Federal Attorney's Office was put in charge of this investigation.[16]

See also

References
  1. "One month after journalist's disappearance, investigation seems to go nowhere - Reporters Without Borders". En.rsf.org. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  2. "Threats and censorship at peak in Veracruz, Oaxaca, Michoacán and Zacatecas". Pressenza. September 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  3. "Journalist Missing for One Week in Michoacán State". Reporters Without Borders. November 19, 2009. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
  4. Silence or Death in Mexico's Press. "Silence or Death in Mexico's Press - Reports - Committee to Protect Journalists". Cpj.org. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  5. "Mexican crime reporter vanishes in western Michoacán - Committee to Protect Journalists". Cpj.org. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  6. "IAPA calls for swift action to locate missing Mexican journalist | SIP – Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa". Sipiapa.org. 2009-11-20. Archived from the original on 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  7. "Costa Rica newspaper: A.M. Costa Rica: Your English language daily news source". A.M. Costa Rica. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  8. "Woman journalist's murder turns Veracruz into deadliest state for media this year". Pressenza. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  9. "Mexican police reporter vanishes after reporting arrest of crime boss | Journalism in the Americas". Knightcenter.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  10. "[Mexico] A tribute to Maria Esther Aguilar Cansimbe". Englishpen.org. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  11. "PEN International – MEXICO: Crime reporter missing". Pen-international.org. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  12. Alex Neve and Marian Botsford Fraser (2012-08-23). "Pressing ahead on journalistic freedom - The Globe and Mail". M.theglobeandmail.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  13. "RSF calls countries to respect law on enforced disappearance". Umuvugizi. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  14. "INSI: News". Newssafety.org. 2003-04-09. Archived from the original on 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  15. "Reporters Without Borders, Journalist who reported on Mexican violence disappears". Thepanamanews.com. 2010-04-11. Archived from the original on 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  16. Article 19 (March 2011). "Written comments of Article 19: Global Campaign for Freedom of Expression" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-11-11.
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