El Blog — Del Narco Videos

Rarer than executions are the combat videos. These are filmed during shootouts between cartels and the Mexican military (Marina or Sedena). In some cases, cartel drones capture aerial footage of convoys being ambushed. In others, a sicario (hitman) wearing a GoPro records himself firing a .50 caliber rifle at a federal police vehicle.

To understand the videos, one must understand the blog. El Blog del Narco was founded in March 2010 at the height of Felipe Calderón’s military offensive against cartels. Traditional Mexican media outlets were being systematically silenced. Journalists were being killed, beheaded, or forced into exile for reporting on cartel activities. Newspapers in states like Tamaulipas, Michoacán, and Chihuahua ran self-censored front pages, terrified of printing the word "cartel." el blog del narco videos

How it would work (back-end)

: It was launched in 2010 to bypass "narco-censorship," where traditional Mexican media outlets often avoid reporting on cartel violence due to threats and murders of journalists. Rarer than executions are the combat videos

Researchers analyze whether the blog serves as a vital public service or a platform for cartels to disseminate violent "narco-messages" and psychological warfare. In others, a sicario (hitman) wearing a GoPro