Mexico City has officially closed its biggest rubbish dump, threatening to put thousands out of work. Yet the city government has yet to find an alternative for the thousands of tonnes of rubbish produced by its 9 million plus inhabitants. A voiced AFPTV report.Duration: 01:58
Jan 24 2012 – The Rarámuri, or Tarahumara, are going hungry. In the state of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico, where the indigenous tribe lives, drought and cold weather have made food scarce. The government and non-profits are handing out food, but handouts are only a short-term solution to the survival of the Tarahumara. Shot, produced [...]
Jan 22 2012 – Over the last few months at least three activists have been murdered in Mexico, and a fourth survived a serious attack. In the context of Mexico’s ongoing drug-related violence, some are being targeted for daring to campaign against criminals, others for challenging the actions of corrupt officials and state forces.
December 20 2011 – Angels are appearing on street corners and at crime scenes in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico’s most violent city and the epicenter of the country’s drug-related violence. Not just for Christmas, the angels are youngsters dressing up to send their message that only God can save Juarez now. Shot, produced and edited for [...]
Dec 14 2011 – Mexico is suffering the worst drought the country has seen in 70 years. In the northern state of Chihuahua, 80 percent of seasonal crops that rely on rain have been lost. For AFP by Deborah Bonello.
As many as seven million Mexicans will make the pilgrimage to Mexico City’s Basilica de Guadalupe this year to pay their respects to the Virgin de Guadalupe, one of Mexico’s most revered holy figures. Pilgrims come from all over Mexico to arrive here around the dates of December 11th and 12th to give their thanks. [...]
Three people were killed after armed gunmen stopped and opened fire on an ambulance in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. See the report here on AFP Spanish.
November 30 2011 – Miss Bala, a Mexican movie that is a current Oscar hopeful and inspired by true events, follows beauty queen Laura Guerrero in her violent downward spiral into the hands of organized crime. Filmed, produced and edited for AFP by Deborah Bonello.
November 2 2011 – Day of the Dead in Mexico is usually a time for celebrating and remembering lost loved ones. But in the context of a brutal drug war that has cost 40,000 lives, the commemoration of the dead has taken on a more sombre tone this year. Below, other video edits from the [...]
October 19 2011 – Latest dispatch for AFP from my recent trip to Veracruz. Journalism in Mexico is under fire. As drug-related violence grows, so does the danger for reporters trying to cover it, often forcing them to flee, bow to outside influences or face the consequences. In the city of Veracruz, journalists are feeling [...]
October 14 2011 – Drug-related violence in many of Mexico’s states is driving businesses to set up shop in the relative safe haven of Mexico City. For AFP by Deborah Bonello. You can also see the video here on AFP’s YouTube channel in English and in Spanish.
The Mexican government has launched a military crackdown in the state of Veracruz following more than 80 killings in the tourist port in the last few weeks.
October 7 2011 My latest video report for AFP, which you can also see here on their YouTube Channel. Danzon, a slow-moving, elegant swing, is popular with Mexico’s older generation. But now, younger people have begun stepping out on onto the the plazas that serve as dance floors, moving alongside their elders to its free-flowing [...]
September 9 2011 – September 9 2011 – My final piece for AFP from my trip to Guatemala. Will be watching elections this weekend…. Fifteen years after the end of a vicious civil war, Guatemala is still beset by violence, only now it is organized crime and street gangs that are driving up death tolls [...]
My latest for AFP from a recent trip to Guatemala. Guatemala is to hold a presidential election in September, and the issues confronting candidates are enormous. Extreme poverty, child malnutrition and corruption continue to be huge challenges. But narco-trafficking groups and organized crime are threatening to become the country’s new bosses. If you can’t watch [...]
They call it the “green hunger.” Here in the mountains of central Guatemala, one of the world’s top exporters of sugar and bananas, vegetation is everywhere and yet the people are starving.
Multinational-run factories employing tens of thousands are doing brisk business in Ciudad Juarez, even as local businesses in the Mexican border town wither, devastated by the high murder rate and extortion by drug gangs.
Pastor Jose Galvan paints pictures depicting decapitated heads, blood and suffering — a disturbing canvas that he says expresses the suffering of his native Mexico in the throes of drug-fuelled violence. This video was made for AFP, and you can watch it here on their YouTube Channel.
Mexican poet turned peace activist Javier Sicilia meets President Felipe Calderon, who he has much criticized for the strong-arm military tactics against drug cartels that many blame for unleashing widespread violence. This video was produced for AFP. You can also see it here on AFP’s YouTube channel.
Daniel Dominguez, one of the hard-worked crime reporters on El Diario, the biggest newspaper in Ciudad Juarez, was kind enough to let me spend the day with him last week. Here’s the report I produced for AFP, which you can also see here on YouTube. The same video is also embedded below, in case of [...]
Mexico’s march for peace, led by Catholic poet Javier Sicilia, crossed over from Ciudad Juarez – the violent epicenter of the country’s drug war – into El Paso, Texas Saturday. They were joined by hundreds of Americans in their demands for a change in strategy from both the Mexican and US governments. This [...]
Just to give you a taste of last night: Friday 10th 2011 – Mexican poet Javier Sicilia and his caravan of peace protestors received a warm welcome from thousands of people in Ciudad Juarez when they arrived Thursday evening. It was the final stop on a tour of some of the country’s states worst affected [...]
June 6th 2011 – Since Javier Sicilia’s son was killed by gunmen in March, the left-leaning Catholic poet has become the voice for those left dead or grieving by drug-related violence in Mexico. Some 37,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon launched his assault against the country’s drug cartels and organized crime networks in [...]
June 6th – Mexicans protesting a military crackdown on drug cartels launched a convoy protest Saturday that will travel through some of Mexico’s bloodiest towns on its way to the US border. This dispatch was done for AFP. You can see it here on their YouTube channel.
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AFP: Mexicans honor drug war victims on Day of the Dead