AFP: Activists under fire in Mexico

  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.

AFP: Ambulance attacked in Ciudad Juarez

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.

AFP: ‘Miss Bala’ reflects drug reality for women in Mexico

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.

Time: Evidence of Killings and Disappearances by Mexico’s Security Forces

November 11 2011 – The grieving families of six men who disappeared from a Mexican night club speak to TIME. Their story is among 170 cases of killing, torture and disappearances documented in a new Human Rights Watch report. This report was produced for Time Magazine by Deborah Bonello. Watch the video on Time’s website [...]

Guardian: Anonymous acts are a key feature of Mexico’s drug wars

Anonymity in Mexico is the only form of defence in the increasingly violent conflict involving the country’s drug cartels, government, media and public.

Time: In Veracruz, the troops move in and tourists stay away

October 25 2011 – A dispatch for Time from a recent trip to Veracruz: In touristy Veracruz, Mexico, drug-related violence has spiked. After a recent wave of 80 killings, the federal government sent troops to patrol the city. But many still don’t feel safe See the video here on Time.com

AFP: Journalists targeted by Mexican drug gangs

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 [...]

Univision: Javier Sicilia and the politics of grief

October 18 2011 – A short video documentary by me for Univision on peace activist and poet Javier Sicilia and his potential to create real change here in Mexico. Watch the video here on Univision’s Tumbler.

AFP: Businesses relocate to safe Mexico City

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.

AFP: Mexican army moves into Veracruz

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.

AFP: Violent crime, impunity stalk Guatemala

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 [...]

AFP: Guatemala fights to keep crime bosses out of elections

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 [...]

FT: Guatemalan hunger poses challenge for leaders

Reporting from Guatemala for the Financial Times: Guatemala is one of the world’s most important producers of sugar bananas and coffee yet the country’s children suffer among the highest rates of malnutrition. Deborah Bonello reports on the causes and what needs to be done to eradicate hunger in the country. You can see the video [...]

AFP: Crime no bar to big business in Mexico border town

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.

Training journalists in defence techniques: Article 19

You may remember this story I did a few months ago on survival techniques for journalists. I also produced a video on that course for the non-profit that runs it, Article 19, which you can see here as well as on their website.

AFP: Pastor paints his pain in violence-riddled Mexico

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.

AFP: Poet peace activist confronts Mexico’s Calderon

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.

AFP: The dangers of reporting Ciudad Juarez

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 [...]

AFP: Cross-border protest asks US to stop funding Mexico’s drug war

    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 [...]

AFP: Javier Sicilia: Mexico’s accidental hero

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 [...]

AFP: Mexico peace protesters head to US border

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.

AFP: Mexico a perilous land for migrants heading north

Is Mexico’s new migrant law enough to help those in transit?

MRTV: Thousands of Mexicans march against drug violence, demand justice for dead

    May 8th 2011 – Thousands of protesters marched to Mexico City’s Zocalo Sunday demanding an end to the violence generated by President Felipe Calderon’s ‘war’ against drug cartels. See the video for more.

Some images from today’s ‘March for Peace’ in Mexico

Some images from today’s ‘March for Peace’ in Mexico City protesting President Felipe Calderon’s ‘war’ again Mexico’s drug cartels and organized crime networks

Mexican journalists get survival tips for covering drug violence

Raymundo Arellano wears a pair of dog tags around his neck. His name, blood type and next of kin have been indented on the silver plates.

“My greatest fear is that I’ll be killed and they’ll bury me somewhere and no one will recognize my remains,” he says.

MRTV: Mexicans march for peace; more bodies discovered

Thousands of Mexicans marched for peace in Mexico city and other centers around the country on Wednesday to protest the drug-related violence here that has claimed more than 35,000 lives.

MRTV: Mexicans continue to disappear

A recent visit by the UN Working Group on involuntary or forced disappearances questioned the Mexican army’s current role in President Felipe Calderon’s “war” against organized crime and drug gangs.

MRTV: Mexican public opinion turns against Calderon’s ‘drug war’

No Mas Sangre (No More Blood), a social protest group that began life as a cartoon, took to the streets of Mexico City on a recent weekend. They were in protesting what they see as a failed policy – President Felipe Calderon’s campaign against the country’s drug cartels and organized crime. But how representative are they of the Mexican people?

Tijuana Press Week In Review 2-27-11

This out this morning courtesy of Tijuanapress.com.

MRTV – Butterflies, Narcos and Broadcasters

February 25th 2011 – Mexico’s migrant monarch butterflies in the state of Michoacan see less visitors as tourists are put off by press reports of narco violence. After being fired for asking Mexico President Felipe Calderon to respond to rumors that he has an alcohol problem, outspoken broadcaster and journalist Carmen Aristegui returned to the airwaves. And drug-related violence for the first time claimed the life of a US security agent – we ask what it means for US/Mexico relations.

Central American Migrants in Mexico Fill The Frame

Marc had Gael Garcia Bernal on board as his presenter, and has produced some excellent advocacy work. “Los Invisibles” (the invisibles) series is beautifully produced and shot, giving voice to a community rarely asked it’s opinion.

Mexican journalist recognised for work in Ciudad Juarez

Arturo Perez, a freelance cameraman based in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez, was recognised for his work last night at the Rory Peck Awards on London’s South Bank.

Majority of Mexicans think life would be better in the U.S., survey finds

Most Mexicans think their lives would be better in the United States, and one in three said they’d move to the U.S. if they could, according to the latest findings on Mexican attitudes from the Pew Global Attitudes Project.

Death in El Salvador

The killing of documentary maker Christian Poveda represents a sad loss for a region much in need of greater understanding.

Director, recently slain, talks about filming El Salvador’s gangs

Photographer and filmmaker Christian Poveda was shot dead in El Salvador Sept. 2, 2009. He spent more than 16 months, every day, with the mara gangs of San Salvador to make the 2009 documentary “La Vida Loca.” This is footage from an interview conducted by the Los Angeles Times’ Deborah Bonello with Poveda a few [...]

Christian Poveda, “la Vida Loca” director, killed in El Salvador

Reports have surfaced that French photographer and director Christian Poveda has been shot and killed in El Salvador, possibly by the gangs that his recently released documentary “La Vida Loca (the Crazy Life)” focused on. Reuters reports: Suspected Salvadorean gang members killed French filmmaker Christian Poveda, whose 2008 film “La Vida Loca” crudely depicts the [...]

Human rights hit the big screen in second film festival

Mexico’s second annual human rights film festival, supported by a number of organizations here including the Mexico branch of Amnesty International, the Ambulante documentary film project and Mexico City’s Human Rights Commission, opens at the end of the week.

On the road with Mexico’s young military

It was disconcerting to see the age of the soldiers executing Calderon’s stop and search policy.

Mexican day laborers are ‘Los Bastardos’ in fictional work

At first glance, “Los Bastardos” seems a surprising film for a Mexican director to make.

Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma spotlights Mexico

The Dart Center, a Colombia University project for journalists who cover violence, got in touch with me after I published a video report on survival training for journalists in Mexico earlier this year.