Misael Tamayo Hernández

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.

Misael Tamayo Hernández
Born2 March 1952
Tlalchapa, Guerrero, Mexico
Died10 November 2006 (aged 53)
Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico
Known forInvestigative journalism

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][2] 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.[3]

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.[4][5][6] He also wrote extensively on the drug cartel turf wars in Zihuatanejo and Acapulco, areas known for their lucrative smuggling routes for narcotics.[7][8][9]

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.[10][11][A 1] 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.[14] After making this call, Tamayo Hernández never returned to work and stopped answering phone calls.[11][15] By 3 a.m. the next day, his family contacted the police after not hearing from him.[15] The man who accompanied him remains disappeared.[13]

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.[3][16][17][A 2] 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.[19][A 3] Later investigations showed that the credit and debit cards of Tamayo Hernández were used after he was killed, but no arrests have been made.[21]

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.[22]

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.[1]

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.[23][24]

Back in 1998, Pedro Valle Hernández and another journalist were assassinated in Guerrero, apparently as a reprisal for their journalistic coverage.[25]

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.[26]

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.[2]

He also had two sisters, Ruth and Rebeca Tamayo Hernández, who live in the city of Zihuatanejo.[4][27]

See also

Sources

Footnotes
  1. Other sources indicate that the name was Reynaldo Chávez, or Reinaldo Ríos de los Santos.[12][13]
  2. His family does not believe that the lethal injection shows that Tamayo Hernández was addicted to drugs. They claim that he was killed this way to sway the real motives behind his death.[18]
  3. There are other versions that Tamayo Hernández was wearing an underwear and that his body was wet.[20]

References
  1. "Sentido adiós al periodista Misael Tamayo en Arcelia, Guerrero". Cambio de Michoacán (in Spanish). 13 November 2006. Archived from the original on 24 July 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  2. "La despedida de Fox: Ejecutan a director de diario en Guerrero". EnLineaDirecta (in Spanish). 11 November 2006. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  3. Dellios, Hugh (7 January 2007). "In Mexico, reporters put lives on line". Chicago Tribune. p. 2. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  4. "Recomendación de CNDH al estado por el asesinato del periodista Misael Tamayo". La Jornada (in Spanish). Editorial EVE, S.A. de C.V. 31 December 2007. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. "Editor of a provincial paper found dead". New York City: Committee to Protect Journalists. 13 November 2006. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  6. "SIP condena la muerte del periodista Misael Tamayo". La Crónica de Hoy (in Spanish). 14 November 2006. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  7. Tobar, Hector (14 November 2006). "Toll mounts in Mexico's drug war". Los Angeles Times. Times Staff Writers. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  8. Beaubein, Jason (23 March 2009). "Violence Continues As Drug Wars Rage In Mexico". NPR. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  9. Lynne Walker, S. (15 February 2006). "Acapulco's loss of innocence". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  10. "Misael Tamayo Hernández". New York City: Committee to Protect Journalists. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  11. Habana de los Santos, Misael (11 November 2006). "Asesinan en Guerrero al director y dueño del diario El Despertar". La Jornada (in Spanish). Editorial EVE, S.A. de C.V. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  12. Cervantes, Juan (10 November 2006). "Ejecutan a director del periódico en Guerrero". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  13. "Hallan muerto a director de un diario de Guerrero". Esmas.com (in Spanish). Televisa. 10 November 2006. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  14. "Editor found dead after corruption expose". Chicago Tribune. Tribune News Services. 13 November 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  15. "Mexico: Editor and publisher Misael Tamayo Hernández found dead following threat". PEN International. 20 November 2006. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  16. "Take action: Misael Tamayo Hernández, killed 10 Nov 2006, Mexico". ARTICLE 19. Farringdon Road, London. 11 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  17. "Newspaper Editor Killed in Mexico". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 12 November 2006. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  18. Irza (pen name) (November 2006). "Exige Unesco aclarar el homicidio de Tamayo". Diario 21 (in Spanish). Prensa Suriana S.A. de C.V. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  19. "Editor of Guerrero state's leading daily found murdered in motel room". International Freedom of Expression Exchange. 13 November 2006. Archived from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  20. "Otro periodista asesinado". El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish). 12 November 2006. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  21. de la Luz González, María (3 December 2007). "CNDH dirige recomendación por asesinato de periodista". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  22. "Misael Tamayo Hernández". Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (in Spanish). Miami, Florida. 22 November 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  23. "El Director General condena el asesinato del periodista mexicano Misael Tamayo Hernández". Comunicado de prensa N°2006-139 of UNESCO (in Spanish). 11 November 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  24. "Guerrero: Fue ejecutado el director del diario El Despertar de la Costa". Proceso (in Spanish). Comunicación e Información, S.A. de C.V. 11 November 2006. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  25. "Reporter Slain, Possibly Because Of Critical Stories". Chicago Tribune. Tribune News Services. 1 November 1998. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  26. "Dan a conocer a ganadores del premio estatal de periodismo Misael Tamayo". La Jornada (in Spanish). Ciudad Altamirano. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  27. "Sala de Prensa: Summary information" (in Spanish). Federal Electoral Tribunal. 10 December 2008. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
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