The individuals burst into the transmission facilities of Radiorama and Channel 9, destroyed equipment and shot and killed engineer Rodolfo Ochoa Moreno.
(CEPET/IFEX) – 14 February 2011 – Early in the morning of 9 February, armed individuals burst into the transmission facilities of Radiorama and the Channel 9 TV station, which is owned by Multimedios Laguna. Rodolfo Ochoa Moreno, a 27-year-old engineer for Multimedios, was shot and killed during the incident. In addition, both media outlets went off the air temporarily.
According to the Coahuila Judicial Prosecutor’s Office, at around 2:00 a.m. on 9 February the authorities received a call for help from the 1 May neighbourhood, Torreón, Coahuila where the Radiorama and Multimedios transmission antennas are located.
Witnesses said that three armed individuals raided the premises of Radiorama and destroyed some of the radio station’s equipment, after subduing one of the employees. The assailants then forced their way into the Multimedios facilities where they came across Ochoa Moreno, who was trying to call for help. The engineer died after being shot eight times.
Heriberto Gallegos, operations manager for Radiorama Laguna, told CEPET that the station remained off the air for almost two days and is still not up to its full capacity.
Gallegos said the radio station had not received any previous threats or warnings. He admitted, however, that the station had decided to stop reporting on organised crime as a security measure due to the high incidence of violence in the region.
Referring to the attack on Multimedios, Coahuila State Attorney General Jesús Torres Charles said that the assailants not only killed Ochoa Moreno, they also robbed some of the media group’s equipment and damaged the facilities so that Channel 9 was forced to go off the air for a few hours.
Please note this is an abridged translation.
