El Sur Newspaper Attacked

(Acapulco, ES 11 November) Last night a group of gunmen used automatic weapons to shoot up the façade and the editorial offices of El Sur, one of Acapulco’s daily newspapers. Twelve employees including editors, copyreaders, designers and assistants in the editorial and advertising departments, were inside at the time. They all fled the editorial room. No one was hurt, but bullet holes were found in desks, walls, ceilings and windows. As yet no explanation has emerged why the gunmen attacked the newspaper, or what sort of intimidation they might have been planning.

Around 10:20 last night, an employee of the newspaper arrived at the building on Vasco Núñez de Balboa. He saw two suspicious-looking SUV’s parked out front. As he went up the stairs inside, he heard hurried footsteps out front, so he rushed to the editorial room to warn his colleagues. At that moment the first sounds of the AK-47 were heard against the front of the building. Everyone left the editorial area for rooms that could be closed off securely. The gunmen entered the editorial area and continued their gunfire attack, hitting desks and walls. Around 25 shell casings of 9mm and .45 caliber were later found on the floor. The gunmen sprinkled gasoline around, in an evident attempt to set the building on fire. The employees remained in their refuges for about 10 minutes, in fear of being discovered by the gunmen. One by one they returned to the editorial room when it became clear that the gunmen had abandoned the building, leaving behind them two cans of gasoline. The criminal investigation is on-going to determine why the gunmen went to the paper, and also why they left when they did, with their mission apparently incomplete.