User:Nameyer1/Benjamín Flores González

Benjamín Flores González (ca. 1968 – 15 July 1997), 29, a Mexican journalist and editor for the La Prensa in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. He reported accusations about cartels and government officials involved in drug-trafficking along the Mexican-American border. He was shot dead outside of his newspaper office building after receiving threats from drug lords.

Personal
Benjamín Flores was a native of San Luis Rio Colorado. While he initially started off as waiter and hot dog vendor, he moved on to be the private secretary for the governor, and from there started his own newspaper in 1989. His newspaper was known for reporting on crime and his sister Ofelia referred to him as a "Robin Hood".

Career
Flores was a journalist, editor, and owner of La Prensa. He wrote a column called "No Confirmado", which translates as "Not Confirmed". In his column, he named politicians and other corrupt members of the government who were dealing with the drug traffickers. His style of aggressive reporting about drug crimes was influential for other journalists. He is known for a report he published about the "disappearance" of half a ton of cocaine that was in police custody and tied the governor to the event. Because of his reporting he developed many enemies and received threats on multiple occasions. Mauricio Manzo, a reporter from Mexicali, Baja California, said, "Everyone told Benjamin that he would be killed, and he was the first to acknowledge it."

Death
As Flores was walking up the steps to La Prensa, he was shot nine times with an AK-47 and three times with a .22-caliber pistol in the head. The police later arrested Rolando Arroyo Palacios and traced the orders back to the drug lord Jaime Gonzalez Gutierrez, known as "El Jaimillo". Flores had contributed to Gutiérrez's arrest by publishing information about him. Gutiérrez had Flores' brothers killed in revenge.

Impact
Many feared that this demonstration of instability would scare off foreign companies that would bring their factors to the industrious city. At the time of Flores's death, there were 29 foreign factories along the border, which provided a large amount of the legitimate revenue in the city. However, the same qualities that enticed business to set up shop at San Luis Rio Colorado also brought drug traffickers.

Reactions
People, especially journalists, feared for their safety and started questioning whether the government could protect them or not. Journalists were afraid that they might become next.

Citations found

 * Orlando Sentinel


 * Las Vegas Sun


 * La policiaca


 * El Universal


 * Zeta


 * Impunidad


 * Libertad Expression


 * Amnesty


 * CPJ