Calderon's Party Denies Nava Backed an Agreement With Mexico's Drug Gangs
Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s political party said its leader didn’t call for the government to negotiate with drug traffickers to curtail violence.
The National Action Party said in a statement today that its chief, Cesar Nava, never gave an interview to the Ciudad Juarez newspaper El Diario after it published a story today citing an interview with Nava.
The article reported that Nava said he has suggested an accord with organized-crime groups in at least five meetings with government officials, and that such an agreement would help regain control of territory lost to criminals.
Government security spokesman Alejandro Poire told reporters yesterday that a truce with organized crime was unacceptable. Violence related to a crackdown imposed by Calderon at the beginning of his administration has resulted in more than 28,000 deaths since December 2006.
El Diario published an editorial on Sept. 19 asking that drug gangs refrain from attacking journalists, saying it was appealing directly to the traffickers because they were the city’s de facto authorities. The editorial appeared days after a photographer from the newspaper was gunned down, the second journalist from the publication killed in the past two years.
El Diario wrote later today that its reporter was tricked by someone impersonating Nava, according to a note posted at the top of its website.
There was no answer at the two phone numbers El Diario said belonged to the caller who impersonated Nava. Two reporters contacted at the offices of El Diario said the article’s author wasn’t available to speak.
To contact the reporters responsible for this story: Jens Gould in Mexico City at jgould9@bloomberg.net; Jonathan Levin in Mexico City at jlevin20@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net
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