Journalist Who Reported on Mexico Rebels Is Kidnapped

Masked gunmen kidnapped a newspaper editor who had reported widely on an emerging rebel group, raising fears among some journalists and politicians that he could be a victim of an anti-guerrilla crackdown by government security forces.

Razhy Gonzalez was leaving his office in the southern city of Oaxaca with a friend about 11 p.m. Tuesday when he was cut off by a car, according to a communique by local journalists that was confirmed by authorities. Two armed men in black T-shirts, jeans and black masks forced Gonzalez into the vehicle and sped away.

Gonzalez, editor of Contrapunto, a small weekly, was one of the first journalists to write about the rise this year of guerrilla groups in Oaxaca. He was also among a small group that attended a clandestine news conference there last week held by the Popular Revolutionary Army, a new left-wing group that has launched bloody attacks around Mexico.

“The kidnapping happened almost in the center of the city, with all the impunity possible. We consider this only could have been done by the authorities, possibly by the police or people close to them,” Arturo Mejia Garcia, Contrapunto’s publisher, said in a telephone interview.

But Dionisio Perez Jacome, a senior government spokesman, dismissed the accusation, saying the crime “could even be for personal reasons. . . . You don’t know how criminals behave, or for what reason.”

Kidnappings have become more frequent of late in Mexico. But most victims are wealthy; others, less wealthy, are held for a few hours then released after ransoms are paid. Coming amid a government crackdown on suspected rebels, Gonzalez’s kidnapping caused great concern among local journalists. Oaxaca correspondents for major Mexican newspapers declared in the communique that they hold the government and police responsible for Gonzalez’s life.