Government Critic Gets Death Threats in Mexico

In a sign that Mexico’s propaganda war may be turning violent, a prominent critic of the government has received two death threats in less than a week, according to police reports. The first threat was made by a man tentatively identified as a Mexico City police investigator.

The threats against Jorge G. Castaneda, a professor of political science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, have caused an uproar in Mexican political and intellectual circles. Over the weekend, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari telephoned Castaneda from Japan, where he was on a state visit, and sent a statement “energetically” denouncing the first incident.

Castaneda’s secretary, Mariana Rodriguez Villegas, was stopped by two men as she left his office Friday afternoon, according to a complaint filed with the police. After verifying that she works for Castaneda, the men gave her a message: “This is the first call. If he continues, he will be” and they used a threatening obscenity.

On Monday, after reviewing police photo files, which include police officers, she identified one of the men as a plainclothes police investigator.

Less than two hours later, another stranger threatened her and Castaneda as she sat in her car.

While federal and municipal officials expressed their repugnance at the threats, the government-owned El Nacional newspaper accused Castaneda of being obsessed with the idea that he is a victim of government persecution.

Castaneda, whose commentaries criticizing the government are frequently published in the Mexican and U.S. press, including the commentary pages of the Los Angeles Times, was one of three intellectuals harshly attacked this spring by a pro-government columnist in El Universal newspaper.

Government officials have denied any involvement in the mudslinging and, from Salinas down, have expressed outrage at the threats to his life.

However, Castaneda said, the written attacks as well as the physical threats are linked to the government’s attitude toward its critics.

“The Salinas administration has made a point of identifying people it considers academic-intellectual enemies in a way that is unprecedented,” he charged. “That is virtually an invitation to the crazies underneath. It’s a dangerous game to play.”

Lower-level police officials easily make the transition from identifying enemies to eliminating them, Castaneda said.

“These are the same thugs that killed (DEA agent Enrique) Camarena,” he said, characterizing the mentality of Mexican law enforcement and referring to a 1985 slaying in which Mexican law enforcement officials allegedly were involved.

A forthcoming report by Human Rights Watch warns that the Mexican police are out of control because of the wide latitude given them to fight the war on drugs. The report is part of a mounting wave of international criticism.

Two weeks ago, Salinas announced the creation of a National Human Rights Commission.

In a speech to Congress, Deputy Ruben Venadero Valenzuela, a spokesman for a group of opposition political parties, said the threats against Castaneda are indicative of a lack of respect for civil rights, including free speech.