A roundup of the footage I filed for AFP for the Pope, combined with the POOL footage from the official feed. See a package here on the issue of abortion in conjunction with the Pope’s visit, for AFP and GlobalPost.
March 24 2011 – The Pope’s visit to Guanajuato this week will be celebrated by many, but definitely not by abortion campaigners. This Mexican state is the one of the strictest, banning abortion except in extreme cases of rape, and the courts don’t hesitate to jail women who dare to take matters into their [...]
Once overlooked in heavily Catholic Mexico, Evangelicals are on the rise.
El Paso, one of the safest US cities, now hosts a growing number of human rights activists seeking to escape persecution in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico’s most deadly city just across the border.
February 6th 2012 – In Ciudad Juarez, the violence is a constant, human suffering a given, and trying to understand why the city has so many problems depends on who you ask. The people who live there are justifiably weary of the violence and the near-blanket impunity enjoyed by those who perpetrate it. But then, [...]
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 [...]
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 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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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
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 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.
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 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.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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 [...]
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.
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.
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 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
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.
I worked with photographer Yvonne Venegas, who created this series of photographic portraits, of the two dates Lady Gaga played in May.
Is Mexico’s new migrant law enough to help those in transit?
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.
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.
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.
Univision: Young angels in Juarez battle the city’s demons
AFP: Mexico City struggles with waste disposal
AFP: Activists under fire in Mexico
AFP: Ambulance attacked in Ciudad Juarez
Time: Evidence of Killings and Disappearances by Mexico’s Security Forces
AFP: Mexicans honor drug war victims on Day of the Dead