Misael Tamayo Hernández Explained

Misael Tamayo Hernández
Birth Date:2 March 1952
Birth Place:Tlalchapa, Guerrero, Mexico
Death Date:10 November 2006 (aged 53)
Death Place:Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico
Known For:Investigative journalism

Misael Tamayo Hernández (2 March 1952 – 10 November 2006) was a Mexican journalist, editorial director, and founder of El Despertar de la Costa, a family-run newspaper from the state of Guerrero.

As a journalist, he was a harsh critic of local corruption, drug trafficking, and the Mexican drug cartels. On 10 November 2006, Tamayo Hernández was abducted and found dead inside a motel room in Guerrero, presumably killed by a lethal injection; the crime is yet to be solved, but there are signs that his death was work-related.

Early life and career

Tamayo Hernández was born in the Tierra Caliente region in Tlalchapa, Guerrero on 2 March 1952.[1] Before going into journalism, he worked at a credit bank for the government at his locality and as a rancher. He had some experience in politics by joining the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), but he gave it up and followed his dream to pursue a career in journalism and create his own newspaper in 2001.

Tamayo Hernández was the editorial director and owner of El Despertar de la Costa ("The Awakening of the Coast"), a newspaper that circulates around the Costa Grande region in the state of Guerrero and is based in the city of Zihuatanejo, right on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. His newspaper was also run by his two sisters, Ruth and Rebecca Tamayo Hernández, who, along with Misael, took a critical stance of the local corruption and organized crime.[2] [3] [4] He also wrote extensively on the drug cartel turf wars in Zihuatanejo and Acapulco, areas known for their lucrative smuggling routes for narcotics.[5] [6] [7]

Death

At around 9 a.m. on 9 November 2006, Tamayo Hernández left the offices of El Despertar de la Costa to have breakfast in Ixtapa with a bus company manager and former police commander of the state, Reynaldo Ríos de los Santos.[8] About an hour and a half later, the journalist called his newspaper and told a reporter to carry out a report on the water administration of a nearby town. Tamayo Hernández had written on his newspaper column earlier that morning on the alleged corruption that besets the water system in Zihuatanejo city.[9] After making this call, Tamayo Hernández never returned to work and stopped answering phone calls.[10] By 3 a.m. the next day, his family contacted the police after not hearing from him.[11] The man who accompanied him remains disappeared.[12]

Tamayo Hernández (aged 53) was eventually found dead at 7:30 a.m. on 10 November 2006 by a security guard inside a motel room in the outskirts of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero. Both of his hands were tied behind his back with a belt, and three small perforations on both of his arms indicated that he was killed with a lethal injection. Post-mortem reports showed that he had died of a massive heart attack probably caused by the drugs injected into his body.[13] [14] [15] He was completely naked; in the back pocket of his trousers, a small bag with white powder – possibly cocaine – was discovered at the crime scene.[16] Later investigations showed that the credit and debit cards of Tamayo Hernández were used after he was killed, but no arrests have been made.[17]

He reportedly received several death threats while being alive, but never took them seriously. The motives behind his death are still unknown, but there are signs that Tamayo Hernández's killing was work-related and due to his coverage on organized crime, drug trafficking, and corruption.[18]

Funeral

In Ciudad Altamirano and Tlalchapa, Tamayo Hernández's body was held in a wake and was buried in Arcelia, Guerrero on 13 November 2006.[19]

Background

Tamayo Hernández was the seventh journalist killed or disappeared in the country in 2006, placing Mexico at the top of the list for journalists assassinated in the Western Hemisphere. In the state of Guerrero, where Tamayo Hernández was killed, several other journalists received death threats that same year.[20] [21]

Back in 1998, Pedro Valle Hernández and another journalist were assassinated in Guerrero, apparently as a reprisal for their journalistic coverage.[22]

Legacy

The most prominent journalists in the state of Guerrero are given an annual award called the "State journalism award Misael Tamayo," in honor of him.[23]

Personal life

Tamayo Hernández had five children, one of them named Misael Tamayo Núñez, the current editorial director of El Despertar del Sur ("The Awakening of the South"), another family-owned newspaper in Arcelia, Guerrero, with Concepción Núñez, his wife.[1]

He also had two sisters, Ruth and Rebeca Tamayo Hernández, who live in the city of Zihuatanejo.[2] [24]

See also

Sources

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: La despedida de Fox: Ejecutan a director de diario en Guerrero . 13 January 2013 . EnLineaDirecta . 11 November 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160310121038/http://www.enlineadirecta.info/nota.php?art_ID=10007&titulo=La_despedida_de_Fox__Ejecutan_a_director_de_diario_en_Guerrero.html . 10 March 2016 . live . Spanish .
  2. News: Recomendación de CNDH al estado por el asesinato del periodista Misael Tamayo. 11 January 2013. La Jornada. 31 December 2007. Editorial EVE, S.A. de C.V.. https://web.archive.org/web/20120331054646/http://www.lajornadaguerrero.com.mx/2007/12/31/index.php?section=sociedad&article=007n1soc. 31 March 2012. live. Spanish.
  3. Web site: Editor of a provincial paper found dead . . 12 January 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121204054759/https://cpj.org/2006/11/editor-of-a-provincial-paper-found-dead.php . 4 December 2012 . live . New York City . 13 November 2006 .
  4. News: SIP condena la muerte del periodista Misael Tamayo . 26 December 2016 . . 14 November 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130112003642/http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=271217 . 12 January 2013 . live . Spanish .
  5. News: Tobar . Hector . Toll mounts in Mexico's drug war . 12 January 2013 . . 14 November 2006 . Times Staff Writers . https://web.archive.org/web/20121012023412/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/nov/14/world/fg-mexdrug14 . 12 October 2012 . live .
  6. News: Beaubein . Jason . Violence Continues As Drug Wars Rage In Mexico . 12 January 2013 . . 23 March 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120605041248/http://www.npr.org/2009/03/23/102188685/violence-continues-as-drug-wars-rage-in-mexico . 5 June 2012 . live .
  7. News: Lynne Walker . S. . Acapulco's loss of innocence . 12 January 2013 . . 15 February 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121012060632/http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060215/news_1n15acapulco.html . 12 October 2012 . live .
  8. Web site: Misael Tamayo Hernández . . 7 January 2013 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20121203190150/https://www.cpj.org/killed/2006/misael-tamayo-hernandez.php . 3 December 2012 . live .
  9. News: Editor found dead after corruption expose . 11 January 2013 . . 13 November 2006 . Tribune News Services . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030116/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-11-13/news/0611130195_1_hotel-room-dead-found . 4 March 2016 . live .
  10. News: Habana de los Santos. Misael. Asesinan en Guerrero al director y dueño del diario El Despertar. 11 January 2013. La Jornada. 11 November 2006. Editorial EVE, S.A. de C.V.. https://web.archive.org/web/20091013233541/http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/11/11/index.php?section=estados&article=032n3est. 13 October 2009. live. Spanish.
  11. News: Mexico: Editor and publisher Misael Tamayo Hernández found dead following threat . 11 January 2013 . . 20 November 2006 . https://archive.today/20130415013216/http://www.englishpen.org/mexico-editor-and-publisher-misael-tamayo-hernandez-found-dead-following-threat/ . 15 April 2013 . live .
  12. News: Hallan muerto a director de un diario de Guerrero. 11 January 2013. Esmas.com. 10 November 2006. Televisa. https://web.archive.org/web/20100126075523/http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/581181.html. 26 January 2010. live. Spanish.
  13. News: Dellios . Hugh . In Mexico, reporters put lives on line . 11 January 2013 . . 7 January 2007 . 2 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074048/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-01-07/news/0701070085_1_journalists-zihuatanejo-southern-guerrero-state . 4 March 2016 . live .
  14. News: Take action: Misael Tamayo Hernández, killed 10 Nov 2006, Mexico . 11 January 2013 . . 11 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120303193303/http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/2831/en/take-action%3A-misael-tamayo-hern%C3%A1ndez%2C-killed-10-nov-2006%2C-mexico . 3 March 2012 . live . .
  15. News: Newspaper Editor Killed in Mexico . 11 January 2013 . . 12 November 2006 . . https://archive.today/20130216155419/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/world/americas/12mexico.html?_r=2& . 16 February 2013 . live .
  16. News: Editor of Guerrero state's leading daily found murdered in motel room . 12 January 2013 . . 13 November 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111210234300/http://ifex.org/mexico/2006/11/13/editor_of_guerrero_state_s_leading/ . 10 December 2011 . live .
  17. News: de la Luz González . María . CNDH dirige recomendación por asesinato de periodista . 12 January 2013 . . 3 December 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100214172054/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/156799.html . 14 February 2010 . live . Spanish .
  18. News: Misael Tamayo Hernández . 26 December 2016 . . 22 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130111191250/http://www.impunidad.com/noticia.php?id=772&idioma=br . 11 January 2013 . . live . Spanish .
  19. News: Sentido adiós al periodista Misael Tamayo en Arcelia, Guerrero . 12 January 2013 . Cambio de Michoacán . 13 November 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070724165220/http://www.cambiodemichoacan.com.mx/vernota.php?id=53483 . 24 July 2007 . live . Spanish .
  20. News: El Director General condena el asesinato del periodista mexicano Misael Tamayo Hernández . 12 January 2013 . . 11 November 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110709072610/http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.php-URL_ID=35710&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html . 9 July 2011 . live . Spanish .
  21. News: Guerrero: Fue ejecutado el director del diario El Despertar de la Costa . 11 January 2013 . . 11 November 2006 . Comunicación e Información, S.A. de C.V . https://archive.today/20130219040302/http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=222911 . 19 February 2013 . live . Spanish .
  22. News: Reporter Slain, Possibly Because Of Critical Stories . 11 January 2013 . . 1 November 1998 . Tribune News Services . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032318/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-11-01/news/9811010287_1_pedro-valle-hernandez-zihuatanejo-second-reporter . 4 March 2016 . live .
  23. News: Dan a conocer a ganadores del premio estatal de periodismo Misael Tamayo. 12 January 2013. La Jornada. 3 June 2010. Ciudad Altamirano. Spanish.
  24. Web site: Sala de Prensa: Summary information . . 26 December 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130111181224/http://portal.te.gob.mx/prensa/fr/noticias-opinion-y-eventos/resumen/4/1228888800 . 11 January 2013 . Spanish . 10 December 2008 . live .

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