Just as Mariela set her bag and recorder down on her desk, the receptionist at the newspaper where she worked received an anonymous call. A threat. ‘They told her that they were going to come by and throw a bomb at us, that they were from MS-13 and that we already knew why they were going to attack us,’ she says. She and her co-worker were on their way back from a bank where they had spoken to the managers while pretending to be extortion victims to get the information they needed for a story.
It was 2010. At the time, Mariela was investigating how the banking system was used in extortion. Extortionists would demand that their victims deposit the money to avoid the possibility of those receiving the payment going in person and being picked up by the police – meaning the gang would lose out on the money. Mariela had learned of this system from a victim who had been extorted for a payment.
When the newspaper received the threat, the editor-in-chief ordered everyone out of the building. ‘That day they sent us all out. It was around three in the afternoon, and we all left, the editorial department and administration,’ Mariela says. Later, the newspaper got in touch with police investigators and took some internal measures to protect their staff.
They told Mariela that no article was worth putting her life at risk. ‘The piece was published with some modifications, mainly for my safety,’ she recalls. She never felt changing topics was an option, and so she has instead taken steps on her own to protect herself. Now she says that before researching a piece, she measures the risk and determines if it would be dangerous. One of her recommendations is to let several months go by after publishing a piece on an especially sensitive topic before returning to the same issues: ‘lower your profile and let it fade from memory a little.’
‘That day they sent us all out. It was around three in the afternoon, and we all left, the editorial department and administration.’
Despite the risks involved for journalists who cover extortion issues, they feel it is important to inform the public and delve into the stories of criminals and victims and the way these organizations work, because extortion is one of the crimes that most affects residents of Guatemala City – one of the most highly extorted areas in the country.
In Guatemala, reporters generally investigate extortion on three fronts: covering police operations (captures and raids); reporting from court, when a hearing begins or ends, or when sentences are handed down in important cases or during the trials of controversial figures; and through investigative journalism, which requires significant dedication and time. Regardless of which of these methods they choose, all of them imply a certain degree of risk. And stories of the dangers they face abound among journalists.
Journalists exposed
According to several journalists consulted, as well as the author’s own experience, it is clear that no Guatemalan media outlet – print, radio, digital or television – trains its reporters on issues of personal safety, first aid or natural disasters.
The most that editorial offices do is occasionally allow a reporter to undertake that training on their own, but that’s not something all media outlets offer. Nor are there prevention plans in place for high-risk news coverage.
Therefore, journalists are forced to learn from their experiences, their mistakes and their successes. In some cases, they may apply to take courses run by international organizations that offer workshops for security in hostile environments. These courses help journalists minimize and measure risks and draw up a work plan, but in areas where gangs run things, anything can happen.
What follows is a list of safety recommendations for journalists in the hope that they may be of use to those working on these issues.
Credits:
Author: Sofía Menchú Photography: @JosuéDecavele