AFP: Hunger threatens indigenous Mexicans

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 [...]

AFP: Angels take to Mexican streets to fight drug crime

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 [...]

AFP: Millions flock to give thanks to the Virgin de Guadalupe

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. [...]

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 [...]

AFP: Mexicans honor drug war victims on Day of the Dead

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 [...]

MRTV: Panteon Dolores, Day of the Dead

November 1st 2011- Some DSLR video I had left over from an assignment this morning in Panteon de Delores, Mexico City, with some music thrown in. Seemed a shame to let it loiter on my flash cards.

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: Mexico’s old school dance takes a new step

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 [...]

FT: What next for Carlos Slim’s América Móvil?

September 23 2011 It has taken just ten years for América Móvil to become the dominant telecoms company in Latin America, turning Carlos Slim, its founder, into the world’s richest man. But can América Móvil continue to grow? Adam Thomson and Deborah Bonello report. You can see the report here on FT.com.

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: Guatemala’s children endangered by malnutrition

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.

GlobalPost: Guatemala City’s Geothermal Jackpot

  August 1st 2011 – A report just published that I did for GlobalPost on Guatemala’s geothermal energy… GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — The steam rising from the Pacaya volcano and the hills and rivers surrounding it on the outskirts of Guatemala’s captial city hints at a power source that could give the country the energy [...]

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 [...]

FT: Mexico City on the move

Mexico City authorities are counting on new metro lines, improved bus services and toll roads, and cycling initiatives to ease traveling for the city’s 20 million inhabitants

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 and peace march welcomed warmly in Ciudad Juarez

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 [...]

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.

U2′s Bono appeals to US, honors Mexico’s innocent dead

Bono, lead singer of U2, took a moment during a concert the band played in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca on Sunday to send a message north across the border. The singer – famous for his political and social activism – asked the band’s Mexico fans to “send a message of love across the border to [...]

Time: Fans go goo-goo for Lady Gaga at Mexico City concert

I worked with photographer Yvonne Venegas, who created this series of photographic portraits, of the two dates Lady Gaga played in May.

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.

Mexico Daily April 13

Today’s news headlines

Mexico Daily April 11

Mexican Drug Gang Took Bus Passengers to Recruit Gunmen – this story does beg the question: why kidnap a load of men to recruit them into your drug gang, only to massacre them the next day?

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.

Mexico Daily April 8

Following the discovery of 59 bodies buried in a number of pits in the northern state of Tamaulipas, those looking for disappeared loved ones are traveling there to see if they can find the remains of people they’re looking for. The finding of the bodies Wednesday happened at the same time that Mexicans were marching in cities across the country in protest to the drug-related violence in Mexico that has claimed more than 35,000 lives. And the Governor of the Bank of Mexico Augustin Carstens says that crime and violence have become “the most important factors inhibiting growth and investment” in Mexico in the past few months.

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.