Assasinated in Sonora: The Assasinator of Journalist Miroslava Breach

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Radio Formula

Miroslava Breach Velducea
Murdered March 23, 2017

Dec 22, 2017
Extra Material from: Proceso
and Knightcenter.utexas

His indiscretion cost him his life, since the same group he worked for, "Los Salazares", of the Sinaloa Cartel, are the ones that allegedly murdered him.

Nearly nine months since the murder of Miroslava Breach, a correspondent for La Jornada and Norte de Juarez, on December 19 "Los Salazares" murdered the alleged material killer of that crime, in Alamos, Sonora, according to people from the same community and confirmed by personnel of the Prosecutor's Office of that state. 

According to people from the region (Álamos is near Chínipas, Chihuahua), where the criminal group allegedly executed the crime against Breach, Ramón Andrés Zavala Rodríguez, 25 years old, boasted that he killed a very important journalist on March 23, 2017. 

Ramon Andres Zavala Rodriguez
Alleged Assassin of Journalist Miroslava Breach

According to sources consulted by Proceso in the local prosecutor's office of Chihuahua, the characteristics of the alleged assassin of Miroslava Breach Velducea correspond to those identified as the man that was found assassinated himself ; that same man who was being searched for as her presumed murderer.

The Salazars group was denounced by the journalist on various occasions, but the information that generated death threats was when she reported that the PRI candidate for mayor of Chínipas, Juan Salazar Ochoa, was a nephew of the Salazar Cartel's leaders: Adrián and Crispín Salazar Zamorano .

NOTE: El Heraldo de Chihuahua reported on Oct 11, that the PGR had reviewed hundreds of hours of security camera recordings and concluded that the murder was ordered by Gente Nueva, the armed enforcement wing of the Sinaloa Cartel that operates in the southwest of the state of Chihuahua .

The damning electoral information published in La Jornada y Proceso, forced the PRI to change its candidate in the municipality of Chinipas and in Bachíniva.

As of that day, there were threats to not spread the information around Chínipas, but on the other hand, there was a request from people linked to the PAN party, to reveal the sources of the published information. 

The mayor of Chínipas at that time was the PAN's Hugo Amed Schulz Alcaraz, whom Miroslava Breach pointed out in her own notes and in the column of Don Mirone, in El Norte de Juárez, as a protector of the Los Salazares group. The reason for requesting the sources was to separate Shultz from having leaked information. 

Mirolsava Breach pointed out that, despite the accusations against the former mayor of Chínipas, the state government tried to place him in a public position under Javier Corral Jurado's government.

After the murder of Miroslava Breach, Hugo Shultz continued in his position as coordinator of the state subsystem, Zona Serrana. The official resigned more than two months ago due to media pressure, and he returned to his position as deputy director at Chínipas High School. 

Social communication from the Attorney General's Office stated that they have not opened any investigation against Hugo Shultz, because there is no evidence to do so. 

It should be noted that on September 13, a nephew of former mayor Shultz was murdered in front of his family. According to sources from the Prosecutor's Office, he could also be involved in the murder of the journalist.

In the FGE they indicated that they still do not have information on the motive of the murder of Adrián Shultz, the nephew, ie; which occurred in the parking lot of the Sam's Club shopping center, located in the peripheral of Colonia Juventud of the Ciudad Chihuahua. 

The state agency did not make public the identity of that murder, but the same relatives of Adrián who posted it on Facebook, thanked their contacts for the  condolences that were expressed to them. 

In addition, it is not known whether or not there is an investigation into the nomination of a member of the criminal group "Los Salazares" due to financial reasons or the reasons why the PAN candidate was replaced by the PRI candidate who won, Jesús Ramón V Agramón Ramírez, now governor of Chínipas.

Shultz Under Investigation :

The Superior Audit of the State (ASE) detected irregularities in four public accounts of 2016, of Chihuahuan municipalities, among these, Chínipas. 

Proceso reports: The State Congress instructed the ASE to initiate administrative and criminal proceedings against the mayors of Chínipas (PAN), Hugo Shultz; Juárez, Javier González Mocken (PRI); Ignacio Zaragoza, Florencio Franco, and Manuel Benavides, Benjamín Ahumada (PT). 

The irregularities detected are in the realization of public works and expenditures that were allocated to former officials who were authorities at that time.

According to the decree of the Legislative Branch, LXV / CTAPB / 0471/2017 PO, published in the Official State Gazette, in the case of Chínipas, the Superior Audit detected irregularities for more than 10 and a half million Pesos in the last year of the management of Hugo Shultz. 

Hugo Shultz responded before the ASE, but they did not resolve the irregularities, so the organism will have to proceed administratively, civilly or criminally. So far there is no complaint in the FGE. 

The Miroslava Breach Award :

Following her murder on March 23, 2017 in Chihuahua, Mexico, journalist Miroslava Breach has entered the tragic list of communicators who have been targeted by violence in Latin America for bringing to light the illegalities of criminal groups and public power in the region.

Now Breach and other colleagues who have been silenced are being honored with a prize that will highlight academic and journalistic works that focus on the theme "Systems of power and violence against journalists in Latin America."

The initiative invites journalists, researchers and activists from all Latin American and Caribbean countries to submit journalistic or academic articles on "Journalism, Violence and Impunity,” "Aggression against the communicative guarantees of citizens," “Economic and political interests of the media above the social interest and the common good” and "Academia, violence and the teaching of communication.” The deadline to apply is Dec. 27.

The texts must be in Spanish and may have up to three co-authors. At least one of the authors should have links with some institution in the Clacso network, which brings together civil organizations and research centers in Latin America.

An international panel of judges appointed by the organizers of the award will select the five best works. The academic articles chosen will be published by Argumentos magazine and the journalistic texts will be published by La Jornada or by Página 12, in print and digital format.

The Miroslava Breach award “aims to be a call for attention to the absolute impunity that reigns in this field: these crimes are never investigated nor their guilty convicted, transforming the State into an accomplice and, not infrequently, as promoter and instigator of this brutal form of violence that grows and is multiplied in our region.”