The Policy of El Palo

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On January 25, 1997, the charred body of news photographer Jose Luis Cabezas was found inside a burnt car in Pinamar, a fashionable Argentine resort town. The murder sent a chill down the spine of Argentines, for it resembled the infamous methods of the death squads that roamed the country when the juntas ruled and rekindled memories of the "dirty war" waged by the last military dictatorship. Cabezas had been kidnapped, handcuffed, tortured, shot point-blank and set afire inside the vehicle. The corpse was unrecognizable; investigators used Cabezas's car keys, watch and dental records to identify it.

The event became a symbol of violence against the press and a rallying cry for journalists in Latin America. Demonstrations were organized to petition the government to investigate and prosecute the individuals responsible for the murder. Cabezas's picture and the slogan "Don't Forget Cabezas" became ubiquitous on billboards and signs in public buildings and newsrooms. Although almost 900 physical or verbal attacks against journalists were recorded in Argentina between 1989 and 1997, this case crossed the line of the limits of expected violence. The savagery of Cabezas's executioners not only was a reminder of the worst years of state-sponsored violence, but also jettisoned the conviction that the killing of journalists ended with the collapse of the authoritarian regime in Argentina, under whose rule nearly 100 journalists were reported murdered or disappeared.

The Cabezas murder is one of the latest examples of the persistence of anti-press violence in Latin America. The shift from authoritarianism to democracy has neither put an end to violence against journalists nor brought justice for its victims. Out of 27 reporters killed worldwide in 1997, 10 were in Latin America, including four in Colombia, three in Mexico, and one each in Argentina, Brazil and Guatemala. During the last decade, scores of journalists have been intimidated and assaulted, and 122 have been murdered or "disappeared." Domestic and …