MEXICO

JULY 28, 2005
Posted: August 17, 2005

Sugey Estrada, Noroeste

THREATENED

Estrada, the correspondent for the Mazatlán edition of the daily Noroeste in the town of Escuinapa, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, was threatened by the local police chief.

Around 12 p.m., Estrada went to the local police headquarters to interview Filiberto Bibriesca Sandoval, director of public security in Escuinapa, Noroeste reported. During the interview, Bibriesca warned her that he was going to “screw” whoever was behind the allegations that he had been drinking alcohol and shooting his gun in Escuinapa’s seafront. Estrada, Noroeste said, denied having covered the allegations, but Bibriesca insisted that she reveal who was behind them. When Estrada asked him to clarify what he meant by “screw,” Bibriesca said, “Take it the way you want, I’m sick and tired of it.”

On July 29, Estrada filed a complaint with the Sinaloa State Attorney General’s Office, which has opened an investigation into the threats.

In a July 30 press conference, Bibriesca offered a public apology to Estrada but denied having made any threats to her life, according to Noroeste.

Abel Enríquez Zavala, Bibriesca’s predecessor as police chief, is being held for alleged involvement in the November 2004 gangland-style slaying of Gregorio Rodríguez Hernández, a photographer with the newspaper El Debate, in Escuinapa.