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Read
the article on Rodolfo Rincón
Taracena in Spanish
Read
the press release "New IPI Campaign Calls
for Justice for Journalists Worldwide"
in English and in Spanish
Listen to a 20 January 2008 audio
update of the Rodolfo Rincón Taracena case, featuring
IPI press freedom advisers Colin Peters, Naomi
Hunt and Tabasco Hoy reporter Roberto Cuitláhuac.
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On 20 January 2007, Rodolfo
Rincón Taracena, 54, an investigative
crime reporter for the daily Tabasco Hoy in Villahermosa,
capital of the southeastern state of Tabasco, left his
newspaper's offices at 7 pm, never to be seen again.
Rincón had told his colleagues that he would
return shortly and left his personal belongings, including
his camera, at his desk. His wife, Rosalinda Pedrero,
told police that her husband had phoned her at midday
to say that he would be leaving work later than planned.
Rincón's family
reported his disappearance to the Tabasco state justice
department on 23 January. Tabasco Hoy contacted
the federal justice ministry the following day.
Rincón was considered
one of the best crime reporters in Tabasco state. He
had recently investigated the activities of local drug
traffickers and a string of bank robberies. On the day
of his disappearance, Tabasco Hoy ran a two-page
article by Rincón on drug dealing in Tabasco.
Rincón had reported
receiving anonymous telephone threats since 2006. According
to Olivia Alaniz Cornelio, a friend and reporter for
another Villahermosa newspaper, he had received a particularly
worrying call about a month before his disappearance.
Tabasco state authorities
failed to come up with any solid leads regarding Rincón's
disappearance and have reportedly discontinued their
investigation.
In the meantime, Rincón's
publication continued to face harassment. In May 2007,
this became particularly gruesome, when the severed
head of a local councilman, Terencio Sastre from the
nearby municipality of El Cedro, was left outside Tabasco
Hoy's offices in Villahermosa in an apparent attempt
to intimidate the newspaper's reporters. The daily has
also received threats from a militarily-trained criminal
gang called "Los Zetas".
Disturbingly, Rodolfo Rincón's
fate is shared by several other journalists in Mexico.
Seven other journalists are currently reported missing
in the country, making it the only nation in the Americas
where there are missing journalists. (Please click on
the individual names for more information about these
journalists.)
- Mauricio
Estrada Zamora, a
crime reporter for the daily La Opinión
de Apatzingán in Apatzingán, Michoacán
state, was last seen on 12 February 2008.
- Gamaliel
López Candanosa
and Gerardo Paredes Pérez,
reporter and cameraman, respectively, for TV Azteca
Noreste in Monterrey, Nuevo Léon state (10
May 2007).
- José
Antonio García Apac, editor
of the weekly Ecos de la Cuenca in Tepalcatepec,
Michoacán state (20 November 2006).
- Rafael
Ortiz Martínez, a reporter
for the daily Zócalo in Monclova,
Coahuila state (8 July 2006).
- José
Alfredo Jiménez Mota,
a crime reporter for the daily El
Imparcial in Hermosillo, Sonora state (2 April
2005).
- Jesús
Mejía Lechuga,
a journalist for Radio MS-Noticias in Martínez
de la Torre, Veracruz state (12 July 2003).
Rodolfo
Rincón Taracena's profile at the time of his
disappearance:
Name: Rodolfo Rincón
Taracena
Age: 54
Weight: 83 kg
Complexion: light brown
Moustache: thick and greying
Nose: normal
Eyes: dark brown
Eyebrows: thick
Lips: full
Ears: medium
Chin: round
Clothing: faded jeans, mustard-coloured long-sleeve
shirt with a blue collar, black belt, black shoes
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