Newspapers respond differently to Mexico cartel attacks

MEXICO CITY, July 24 (UPI) -- A newspaper in northern Mexico whose office was bombed this month has said it will no longer cover "violent disputes" between drug cartels.

But a national newspaper, Reforma, which was attacked the same day as El Manana in Neuvo Laredo, has continued with aggressive coverage of the cartels, the Los Angeles Times reported. Reforma's Monterrey office and El Manana's main office were subjected to attacks by gunmen equipped with grenade launchers at almost the same time.

The attack on Reforma came the day after it published an investigation into a scheme to sell as many as 200,000 stolen automobiles. The attack on El Manana the same day was the newspaper's second in two months.

El Manana responded with an editorial saying it had made the "regrettable" decision to halt coverage of "violent disputes." The editorial cited a "lack of adequate conditions for freely exercising professional journalism."

While the editorial did not specifically refer to drug cartels, the "disputes" clearly meant the feuds between criminal organizations that have taken the lives of thousands of people in Mexico.

Reforma editors told the Times the newspaper planned to run an editorial saying it would not change its coverage. But the editorial, which would have run on the front page, was pulled after discussions with security services.