Miroslava Rodríguez is a social entrepreneur and co-founder of Erandi Aprende a bilingual educational venture dedicated to closing the gender gap in STEM by empowering Latina girls aged 8-12 in the US and Mexico With a background in computer science and a passion for education Miroslava's work sits at the intersection of educational technology Erandi Aprende uses AI to deliver personalized fostering creativity and critical thinking while promoting parental engagement to enhance student success Erandi Aprende has impacted over 25,000 children through its software platforms addressing the underrepresentation of Hispanic women in STEM including accolades such as the UNICEF Youth Challenge Global Winner and MIT Solve Finalist In collaboration with important STEM organizations like AWS and Cisco Erandi Aprende continues to expand its impact Miroslava's commitment to transforming education has also garnered her recognition from prestigious programs like One Young World Rising Leaders of Mexico by Watson Institute Our goal: to leave no breach of freedom of information unreported our latest investigation reports as well as our publications produced every day by our regional offices in connection with our network of correspondents in 115 countries around the world we carry out in-depth work with governments and institutions We offer concrete solutions and launch international initiatives We are on the ground to assist journalists in danger Do you believe there can be no freedom of conscience without freedom of the press Do you want to help free and independent journalism Do you want to defend the right to information There are several ways to support RSF: find the one that suits you and join the fight Go behind the scenes of RSF and discover in detail our operations our governance… but also our favourite picks projects and events we support and who act in their own way to advance our commmon ideal To commemorate the eighth anniversary of the assassination of journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea and press freedom defenders inaugurated the mural “El silencio es complicidad” ("Silence is Complicity") in Mexico City RSF and Propuesta Cívica welcome the commitments made on this emblematic day by the Mexican government and reiterate their demand for full justice in Miroslava Breach’s case a necessary step toward ending the impunity that continues to endanger journalists across the country RSF and Propuesta Cívica participated in a high-level meeting with Mexico’s Interior Minister (SEGOB) attended by the Undersecretary for Human Rights Population and Migration Arturo Medina; the Head of the Human Rights Unit and National Executive Coordinator of the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Froylán Vladimir Enciso Higuera; and Director general of the Mechanism Tobyanne Ledesma the actors pledged to ensure the reparations process is swiftly carried out “The mural not only honors Miroslava’s memory as a courageous woman journalist it also reminds us that silence enables impunity It is a call to keep raising our voices against injustice and to remember all the journalists who have been killed for informing the public RSF and Propuesta Cívica welcome the commitments made on this emblematic day by the Mexican government who promised to ensure that the family is able to expedite the reparations process Population and Migration to personally supervise this process Her struggle for truth inspires journalists and a society that refuses to be silenced Miroslava Breach was a prominent investigative journalist who reported for La Jornada and El Norte and human rights abuses in the state of Chihuahua Her work revealed that criminal groups infiltrated local politics particularly in the Sierra Tarahumara region she was shot and killed outside her home while waiting to take her son to school and state authorities failed to act on known risks RSF and Propuesta Cívica have provided legal support to Miroslava Breach’s family since the beginning of the investigation into her murder Their efforts helped secure a 52-year prison sentence for Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa (“El Larry”) the other people involved — including those who ordered the murder — remain at large The investigation into political complicity in this case remains incomplete The mural’s unveiling was attended by members of Miroslava’s family the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights We depend on you in order to be able to monitor respect for press freedom and take action worldwide You support our activities when you buy our books of photos: all of the profits go to Reporters Without Borders a legal non-profit organisation that represents the journalist’s family at the trial PEN International welcomes the sentence and renews their call to the government of Mexico to continue the investigations to clarify the crime completely PEN International and its centres in San Miguel de Allende and Guadalajara welcome the verdict and sentence to 50 years in prison of Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa, alias El Larry, for his participation in the murder of the journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea and renew their call to the government of Mexico to continue the investigations to clarify the crime completely comments that “This sentence represents an advance in the struggle against impunity for crimes against communicators we still must raise our voices to put an end to impunity for violence and persecution against this profession We will never forget the courage and determination of Miroslava Breach.” According to Reporters Without Borders and Propuesta Cívica after almost three years from the beginning of the legal process and 31 days of trial “It was shown that Miroslava was a victim of homicide as a consequence of her journalistic investigations the intellectual author of the crime was identified He was a leader in drug trafficking and had political connections Witnesses who are specialists in criminal investigation exposed how the narco-politics in the Chihuahua mountains functioned with the possible involvement of the present local government in the crime an unresolved link in this investigation.” recalled that “90 percent of the crimes against journalists in Mexico remain unpunished We continue to be witnesses to the death of journalists as a tragic fact and also a metaphor of a state which asphyxiates the right to freedom of expression The case of Miroslava Breach is the means to a real access to justice.” Veteran journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea was repeatedly shot in the head outside her home in Chihuahua on 23 March 2017. Breach Velducea was a well-known journalist whose twenty-year career focused on reporting on political and social issues Her most recent work exposed connections between local politicians and drug cartels She worked as a correspondent for the national paper La Jornada and contributed to several other news outlets Breach had headed a corruption investigation The federal Special Prosecutor for Attention to Crimes against Freedom of Expression (Fiscalía Especial para la Libertad de Expresión - FEADLE) launched an investigation into her murder In December 2017, the federal police arrested to Moreno Ochoa, associated of Los Salazar– a criminal organisation affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel – who they have indicted as the mastermind (intellectual author) of the crime. The authorities were seeking a 70-year prison sentence An individual thought to be one of the perpetrators (material authors) of the crime was reportedly found dead in Sonora state in December 2017 Other individuals suspected of involvement in her murder remain at large PEN International and the PEN Centers call on the Mexican authorities to continue the investigation and actions necessary to bring to justice all those responsible for the crime without discounting lines of investigation that lead to the interior of local governments and public functionaries to continue protecting the family members of Miroslava Breach as well as journalists at risk in the country by means of the Mechanism of Protection for defenders of human rights and journalists and to revise protocols for action to give efficient protection Contact UsFAQs CampaignsPrivacy & GDPRJoin Our TeamSubmit Whistleblowing Report PEN International is a registered charity in England and Wales.Registered Charity Number: 1117088.Company Number: 05683997PEN International 2022 ©167-169 Great Portland StreetLondon Website Design by Vibras Creative Studio If you're in charge of hiring talent for TV shows in the United States The TNT Sports Mexico studio host is going viral around the world after wearing a top to work Tuesday night that had viewers gasping for air while just trying to watch a soccer match The low-cut top is being lauded on multiple continents.  The natural reaction is to assume this is some sort of AI stunt You're used to Instagram being inundated with AI women and you just assume Miroslava is just the latest bot I have news for you: she's real!  even has a Wikipedia page where I learned that she's been broadcasting since 2014 and has even worked for the Spanish version of NFL Live She even hosted the Spanish version of SportsCenter until leaving ESPN Mexico in 2019.  Montemayor has been entertaining Mexican sports fans for years.  this microphone veteran pretty much announced that she's ready for the call from American TV networks.  The networks claim they want to expand their reach it's time to step up and throw a contract on the table ESPN has been forcing the same five female voices for years from now We've heard enough from Holly Rowe.  here's an even better idea: Kick Marty Smith's Florida-Georgia Line hick ass to the curb and give Miroslava the mic to interview Tiger Woods during TGL.  Who says no to this besides the woke nerds who can't stand hot women on TV?  Miroslava is the next piece to the puzzle.  You are agreeing to OutKick's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy DISCLAIMER: This site is 100% for entertainment purposes only and does not involve real money betting. Gambling related content is not intended for anyone under the age of 21. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER. hosting its "Mediotiempo" or "Halftime" (Thanks one semester of middle school Spanish!) segment: I apologize to Ms. Montemayor if she's been in the public eye for a while and I'm only just discovering her thanks to this X post (with 77K likes) and this video, which are both less than 24 hours old. Like any narcissist, I'm operating off the philosophy that a thing is new if it's new to me. But whether this was her broadcasting debut or she's been out there, plying her trade, covering minor league games in small towns, honing her skills, climbing that ladder and finally making it to the big time, she most definitely has made it. This is how you announce your presence with authority and put the world on notice there's a new giant on the broadcast scene. Miroslava Montemayor doth bestride the narrow world like a colossus.  All hail our new Queen. Long may she reign.  Maybe she can give color commentary for the next Rough 'N Rowdy? Either way, Viva Montemayor. © 2025 Barstool Sports. All rights reserved. A CHAMPIONS League host has distracted fans from the on-field drama - with her outrageous outfit. Miroslava Montemayor, 35, won hearts during TNT's coverage of the tournament in Mexico. The presenter was front and centre for a night of high drama across the European competition. Celtic almost knocked out Bayern Munich, Club Brugge stunned Atalanta and Benfica drew 3-3 with Monaco. Montemayor was on hand to bring TNT viewers in Mexico all the goals as they happened. And she turned heads with her sultry choice of on-air attire, rocking a stunning blue outfit for the cameras. Debuting the look to her 394,000 Instagram followers, one fan gasped: "What a stunner." Another said: "Distracted me during the postgame." While a third added: "When God invented beauty he was inspired by you." Miroslava, 35, is a former Mexican beauty pageant titleholder. She represented her country at Miss International 2013 in Japan and began her foray into TV over a decade ago she headed into the world of sports broadcasting Miroslava began her TV career on Azteca Noreste sports show ADN fronting a number of their Spanish-language shows The presenter turns her hand to everything from American football to tennis where she has since fronted the Champions League coverage in Mexico Later that year she married Jorge Alberto Hank Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations Medvedev’s comments followed a fake social media post falsely attributing to the Czech Senator a call for a Leningrad blockade either observed and verified directly by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Journalist Miroslava Simonovska is facing new threats after a fake Facebook profile was created in her name including "We are following you" & "We are taking pictures of you." This follows a video of the journalist receiving documents, that was filmed without her consent circulated online and broadcast on national TV Simonovska has reported the threats and privacy violation to authorities and the Ministry of the Interior is investigating Women Press Freedom condemns these violations & calls for urgent action to ensure Miroslava’s safety WPF strongly condemns Russia for the killing of Ukrainian journalist Tetyana Kulyk in a drone strike She is the 10th woman journalist murdered by Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago WPF condemns the arrest of journalist Elif Akgül Criminalizing journalism under the guise of security concerns is an attack on press freedom WPF is deeply concerned about the disappearance of British journalist Charlotte Peet who has reported for Al Jazeera and The Times WPF condemns the violent attack on journalist María Fernanda Martínez by supporters of the Libre party in Honduras WPF denounces police officers for unjust detentions of journalists and excessive use of force Kutaisi City Court fines 8 journalists— including Kutaisi Pos' Eka Kukhalashvili Special operations police violently detain JIN News journalist Öznur Değer after raiding her family home in Kızıltepe Jahangir has been targeted for her show discussing fake blasphemy accusations used to blackmail people Investigative journalist and editor-in-chief of Neovlivní and her family placed under police protection due to serious threats WPF strongly condemns the politically motivated sentencing of journalists Chadha Hadj Mbarek (5 years) and Chahrazad Akacha (27 years in absentia) WPF strongly condemns the detention of journalist Shahnaz Baylargizi The latest in the alarming state crackdown on independent media in the country police detained Telex journalists Noémi Gombos and Dániel Simor for attempting to question PM Viktor Orbán Women Press Freedom strongly condemns the detention of Halk TV journalist Seda Selek Journalist and Siirt Municipality Co-Mayor Sofya Alağaş has been sentenced to six years and three months in prison on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization." Five police officers detained Exitosa Noticias's Fátima Constantino while she was reporting on traffic chaos in Chiclayo WPF strongly denounces the deportation of the award-winning journalist WPF denounces the Delhi court’s order for police to officially investigate Washington Post journalist Rana Ayyub potentially leading to further legal action against her Gisella Bayona is facing identity theft—imposters solicit money & contacts in her name Bayona reported the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office Medya Haber journalist Eylem Babayiğit detained after a raid on her home in Istanbul WPF demands the immediate release of ETHA reporter Züleyha Müldür detained during widespread police raids this morning Police detain 6 Kurdish journalists following raids Three women journalists Reyhan Hacıoğlu (Van) Rahime Karvar and Necla Demir were later arrested on terror-related charges WPF celebrates the release of Palestinian journalists Bushra Al-Taweel and Rula Hassanein as part of the first phase of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire deal Palestinian Authority security forces detain Al-Jazeera journalist Givara Budeiri and her cameraperson while reporting live outside Israel’s Ofer prison Women Press Freedom welcomes the decision of Paris' anti-terrorism judges not to indict Disclose journalist Ariane Lavrilleux Ministry of Internal Affairs issue an arrest warrant for exiled journalist Alesya Marokhovskaya chief editor of the independent investigative outlet IStories Russian drone targets journalist Margarita Potapova and her Ukrainian Witness film crew near Zaporizhzhia Voice of America reporter Ulviyya Ali has been banned from travel after police interrogation over the MeydanTV case—despite having no ties to the outlet WPF strongly condemns the legal harassment of journalist Anna Nini and Press Project publisher Konstantinos Poulis for their coverage of a high-profile trial in Greece Israeli airstrike kills journalist and photographer Ahlam Al Nafed while she was walking to Al Shifa Hospital on January 14 From Trolling to Deepfakes: The Online War Against Women Journalists Weaponizing the Courts: Erdoğan’s Escalating Legal Repression of Women Journalists SLAPPs Targeting Women Journalists Covering Gender Issues: 2020 – 2024Russia’s War on the Press Transnational Repression: 2019 – 2024 Our Philosophy Team Board of Advisors Partners DelegationsJob Openings Global Chapters #HeforShe 2024 Events 2023 Events2022 Events2021 Events2020 Events Latest IssueAll Issues Reach out to usTwitterInstagramFacebook Harris vs Trump NewsroomReportsSpotlightTimelines Campaigns Legal Trials Against Journalists Apply for MentorshipHow Mentorship Works Strengthen Your Mental Health CFWIJ has compiled a list of select women journalists whom you can follow to stay informed on the pandemic The Coalition launched in March 2017 as a pro-bono org From 2019 it will be operating as an NGO with the seed funding received from Craig Newmark Philanthropies Bennington College Anthropology Teacher and Vermont Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak on the streets of Bennington Bennington College Anthropology Teacher and Vermont Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak at The Archives in Britain researching her latest book in January 2025 Bennington College Anthropology Teacher and Vermont Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak (c) in this archival photo from her field site in Kenya Bennington College Anthropology Teacher and Vermont Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak teaching at Bennington College in February 2025 Vermont Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak after the ceremony in November 2024 Anthropology Teacher Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak in her office at Bennington College in 2008 Bennington College Anthropology Teacher and Vermont Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak posing with a family in Kenya in 2022 Understanding life is not just about place but people For renowned anthropologist and Bennington College professor Miroslava (Mirka) Prazak Retiring from teaching this spring after 30 years at Bennington College Prazak recently received the accolade as a Fellow of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences On the cusp of her final semester but also the transition into other pursuits that have defined and informed her journey from fieldwork to books Prazak sat down with the Banner to discuss perspective Born in the Czech Republic with time in her youth spent in Pakistan Australia and Austria before coming to the States Prazak took on her initial college experience at Smith College barely an hour and a half from where she has taught for three decades in Bennington I really started to look at my life experience and see that there could be a connection between that and what I studied.” When she first came across anthropology Prazak says it spoke to her because it was just a discipline that “embraced the diversity of experience the diversity of ideas and the diversity of people in their background and the things that are important to them.” She says people always ask her “'How do you compare this to that...[how do you] compare the Czech Republic to Pakistan You just experience.'” It becomes about understanding the particulars in the norms it was very restrictive.” She says all her early experiences came together for her when she began attending Smith I had an American host family who are still my family [to this day] They just took me in.” She also adds that Smith is “where my Americanness comes from.” Prazak says there was something about New England from the beginning that was very appealing to her “I think part of it is because it is not so commercialized It is naturally beautiful and there's a sense of space and freedom here.” She laughs that she can stand in her backyard Prazak explains that after she graduated from Smith she moved to North Carolina and worked with a community organization in Durham doing community organizing And I learned America on a very different level and then I moved to New York.” She says she had good intentions in North Carolina but reflects that “people really didn't understand where I was coming from.” Prazak says her thought at the time was “How could I communicate this story of mine in a way that people would be interested in hearing it or seeing it or understanding it.” she was interested in pursuing documentary filmmaking I worked as a temp in a lot of different places And I learned the basic skills.” The one thing Prazak realized about that sector is that there was a lot of fundraising involved it was advantageous to have someone with an anthropological background on the crew I could do that.'” The reality though was that having a BA with no experience was not enough So she enrolled in 1983 at Yale University Prazak applied to three graduate schools including UCLA and University of Wisconsin at Madison She focused on these universities because they were three schools that specialized in Africa “I went to Yale because they were very generous [in terms of financial aid] my dad had stopped working for the UN and had started working for the World Bank which took him to other places He went from Pakistan to the Sudan and then Uganda.” Prazak says the first time she went to Kenya was on vacation with her parents “But the thing is: I walked out of the hotel we were staying Prazak didn't have a field site actually picked out for her dissertation “But I had a classmate there who was from Kenya who was actually part of the Kuria [tribe] and the Kuria are the people I have worked with ever since [He had said] 'You tried this place and that place Why don't you study my people?'” Prazak says they are still friends all these years later She laughs that the first time her parents came to visit her in the field which is about a 10-hour drive from where her field site was “And the last two hours of that drive are completely on unpaved Prazak says she didn't have a long term plan “I made these decisions as I went along.” She continues that she did her requisite coursework at Yale before she started to raise money for her field work We got married just before going into the field and then spent two years there for my initial field work before we came back to the States.” She however says they did not come back to New Haven and Yale "I did though spent a lot of time in New Haven because I had a really good friend from graduate school who had been doing research in Madagascar And so for the year that he was sick in New Haven I would come up and keep him company.” Prazak finished her dissertation Her daughter was born six weeks before she turned it in “Then I was offered an Mellon Foundation post-doc both at Brown and at the Australian National University My daughter was four months when we moved.” Prazak's post-doc work was in in demography which is defined “as the study of statistics such as births which illustrate the changing structure of human populations.” Prazak says there was an impulse at that moment in time to introduce anthropological methods and perspectives into demography I was really learning demography.” She adds that she spent a year of those three in Australia actually in Kenya with her daughter and her husband doing additional field work.” “but the initial question is absolutely qualitative But the question [always has to] begin with — from your experience — what are you interested in or what has come to your attention.” When they returned Stateside after completing their final year in Australia Prazak had an interview at Bennington College got the offer two weeks later and then they moved up to Vermont in June of that year I didn't really know very much about Bennington [someone at my host house] had a friend who was from Bennington they would talk about Bennington and specifically the college.” Prazak says she always knew Bennington College was very different from other colleges It was a real intellectual school.” After Prazak came up to Bennington and interviewed I didn't accept right away because I wanted to bring my family up There was a question of daycare and Bennington College also doesn't have tenure.” She says her original contract was for three years 'We can do anything for three years.'” She began to appreciate the small town aspect of Bennington I didn't really know anything about progressive education.” Prazak adds she did have a series of very long discussions with then-Bennington College President Elizabeth Coleman really smart woman who had this vision of Bennington College that was so profound I want you to teach what keeps you up at night.'" Prazak realized that “[I had] all the stuff that I had read in graduate school trying to engage people to get involved in what I was passionate about.” She says she did teach sort of basic anthropology courses that included the pillars of the discipline Prazak continues that one of the most formative aspects that created her in terms of her teaching was when students came to her saying ”Mirka...will you teach a course on the anthropology of art?” Prazak says she had done a lot of photography 'I never have really specialized in art as a subject of study.' So I thought 'Why don't I do a tutorial?'" Her students thought her tutorial was amazing They contribute.” Through that discovery process Prazak says she and her students ended up creating a lasting course she says they had a section on architecture that was based ethnographies in Mali as well as Timbuktu “It dealt both with sort of traditional architecture and buildings from sun-dried bricks to the preservation of cultural heritage sites.” is that “once you start looking at something very specifically then you can bring in all of these dimensions that pertain to it." She says they would study the night plays put on in rural India who is a specialist in India to explain the Mahabharata had worked with the Kattaikkuttu for decades came in as a visiting speaker as well.” In many ways it was about bringing in people who weren't performers but had a huge voice in analysis Prazak continues that she has also taught courses in medical anthropology which often center on East Africa “because that's where my experience comes from And the two big topics that I deal with are the HIV/AIDS pandemic and FGM (female genital mutilation) which I have written a book about.” Prazak did the work but also said the focus reflected on those who had inspired her The work he did in Haiti before he went global....just taking a nothing community and turning it into this sort of a place where people had chances in life Also Jim Kim who was a partner in health with Paul Farmer...he became the head of the World Bank and was also president of Dartmouth Jim and Paul were students together who met in Haiti Prazak says the best thing that happened in her life was becoming involved with the idea “that you have to question authority always The most important lessons are reached through discussion [But] you have to be open to accepting other people's criteria I find that ethnocentrism is the thing that I have to fight all the time...that belief that what I know or what is normal to me is the best way to know or to do something.” Prazak adds that “you have to be open to the fact that other people do things differently And that these outcomes can be just as satisfactory as what I would do.” Prazak does say “the most important thing I have done in my life besides being a mom and all that kind of stuff Those pieces [of me] are now in other people Prazak adds that one of the things that she always tries to impart to her students “is that you have to do things that help you align your moral compass and this is why I thought it.'” Through these interactions “And my hope is that my students are making their own impact you don't really necessarily get all of that recognition but what you put out is constant Sometimes you get feedback from your students or people in the community.” She says that's why being recognized by the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences shows “the contribution that I have made to education in Vermont." Prazak adds "I have always tried to incorporate the humanities more fully into anthropology which is sometimes not done I'm also look at my work from an indigenous point of view She says one of these ideas is that anthropology is best done by outsiders to the society “Most ethnographic writing is by anthropologists who have studied a people but are not of those people.” Another idea is the line between fiction and non fiction Prazak explains that she is halfway through writing her next book which is on the life history of a peasant woman from rural Kenya At the time when we spoke in late December Prazak was going to Britain to visit the archives of a mission who had been the first ones to visit that area “I'm going to look for descriptions that the priests had written about what the place was like when they got there which was in the 1890s.” Prazak adds that she has read through the German journals that the priests had left behind “[And] one of the things that came across immediately was that the people who approached them from the [Kenyan] community did so because they had problems that they couldn't resolve themselves I'm trying to get just tidbits about what it was like in those early years.” One of the course areas Prazak says she has really enjoyed as a teacher has been environmental studies “[I am] looking at using anthropology to understand people's relationship to the environment as well as our society's relationship to the environment.” She adds that we live in other people's environments that we ourselves influence “I think this was of particular interest to the people at the Vermont Academy in how the teaching that [I do] is based on my research in Africa [but also how it] translates into building knowledge in Vermont and how it influences the knowledge base for issues that are relevant to Vermont.” One course Prazak has just finished teaching this past term is 'Studying Place by Metes and Bounds.” The course itself focuses on the town of Bennington but it deals with global issues as they manifest on the local level.” Prazak developed this course with a number of her colleagues It was funded National Science Foundation in 2014 “when globalization was the big thing happening in academic circles and in the world at large.” The reasoning was that there was a real relevance at the time “to studying the local environment — the local setting — in order to generate grounded theory.” Prazak also adds that the course had many of the central tenets of progressive education that aligned with Bennington College “It really focused on students learning methods for studying the local environment It also really encouraged critical thinking and problem solving skills.” Prazak explains that what they were teaching were the basic methods that one utilizes to understand contemporary society...at least from the anthropological perspective These methods would include participant observations and then extrapolating what has been learned through them “And then also how we can analyze the data?” One of the tenets "is that we learn by taking part in everyday life to understand what the dynamics of everyday life are." She says this is very much a John Dewey sort of philosophy "which is what Bennington College is founded on." She explains that they designed the course "to allow our students to experience Bennington as they studied about it.” Prazak says what she has come to learn over her years of experience and teaching — and given the changes in larger society both nationally and internationally — “is that an authoritarian school environment is not adequate preparation for life in a democracy In order to be able to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens of a democracy students have to be able to understand much more deeply through personal engagement what is happening in the society around them.” Prazak adds that ultimately she and her colleagues' hope was that the students who took this course would be able to come to understand any place they would live in Prazak says another really important lesson she learned over her time at Bennington College was that certain principles continue to be important in order to build the fundamental pillars of whatever societies the students find themselves in “You have to have the basic skills and basic understandings that will allow you to think outside the box and yet be able to critique the box.” For this course regarding Bennington Prazak says they brought in many experts to talk about the geology the forestry and even the social institutions necessary for living in a town like Bennington "But how do we approach topics that are socially sensitive and don't rely on stereotypes?” Prazak adds that they actually took the students out into the community and walked around the mills which is the early colonial collection at the Bennington Museum." There they saw artifacts from the early 1800s in Bennington “We were building [their view] from the ground up which is always sort of the anthropological perspective on things anyway [You] first try to document what the reality is.” In this case it was through the collection and documents she says they also used the Harwood Diaries with the student “Those [diaries] are amazing because the Harwoods wrote them every day We can look at the crops that were being produced...even the kind of social interaction that was taking place within the town It's from a singular perspective — but it is a perspective that is situated in place and time.” which she says she only taught once (last spring) was called '”Encountering the Abenaki nation.” She designed the course herself with the help of the Abenaki people She adds that it was intended to answer the question: “Who were the people who lived in this area before the settlers came?” But also: “How do we know [that] given that there are no written records.” She says they went through as many different sources as they could find to try to answer: “How do we know this and why do we know this and also that it is not something else?” Prazak says that through the course she tried to guide the students through the texts “We looked at what kinds of things we can learn from geology and how the settlement of Vermont took place 12,000 years ago during the last Ice Age There were two huge seas that that have now been reduced to Lake Champlain And it was so cold that there was really no vegetation...no human habitation.” She says the people who settled here came from the sub Arctic Prazak says one of the issues they talked about a lot was the current controversy about the Abenakis in Canada claiming that they didn't recognize the Abenaki groups in Vermont You would think that in a state where the indigenous populations have not been recognized for so long But the opposition comes from other Abenaki groups who have the First Nation status in Canada So we're dealing with issues as they come up trying to find as much evidence as we can to understand how this became an issue Based on the concept and delineation of these two courses Prazak adds that “environment — to me — absolutely includes the people who live [in a place] It is not just about plants and trees and climate but so are the people and the way that they adapt to the environment.” Prazak adds that this interdisciplinary aspect of her work has been profound for her right from the very beginning and the only way to get a comprehensive picture is to reach into the disciplines that deal with those elements Prazak also adds that one of the key elements of progressive education is being interdisciplinary “I treat the students as people coming into a conversation with full rights of participation My initial assumption always is that everybody has something to contribute If they do the basic reading and the basic research that I ask of them they should absolutely be able to talk about the questions that I pose in the classroom.” Prazak continues that most of her students are 20-years-old on average “They don't have a huge back stock of experience but they have enough to know that some things ring right and some things ring wrong They are in the process of forming their identities They are calibrating their moral compasses.” She says one of her jobs is to help them with those processes and help them begin to recognize what aspects are significant to them in their life in their future and what they want to work towards “They're part of the Bennington community now they will be part of wherever they end up going to But these skills and understandings will help them build their core sense of self.” That is why Prazak's induction into the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences is so rewarding Not only in that I have gained a lot more knowledge — my students benefit from that — but they have also gone on to gain knowledge on their own we all want to influence our students to do as well as they can to become responsible I have so appreciated teaching in a school where these progressive education principles are in practice." The big difference when Prazak retires is that she will longer be teaching “And even though that has been an incredibly satisfying experience — and my greatest contribution — I think just not having to prepare daily for class will just give me time to focus on the things that I feel I have left undone so far.” She leaves with this thought: “One of the descriptors of anthropologists is that they're professional strangers outsiders looking at the societies that we live in with this kind of quote unquote objective background that allows us this analytical lens.” Prazak has lived this life but has always found a way to connect with her students through teaching and discussion having a profound impact on those she comes in contact with Get the latest headlines every morning in TheBeat We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device an Abu Dhabi-based investment fund headed by one of the emirate's royal family members “This is an important milestone as we celebrate our fifth anniversary,” said the brand's co-founder “Royal Group is the strategic partner to open our next chapter,” she added Pangaia was already registering US$16.6 million in profits thanks to its hoodies and colorful suits made of sustainable materials there was an abrupt downsizing: in 2021 there was an operating loss of US$41 million the last year in which the balance sheet was released There was then a shake-up at the top in 2023 with the departure of CEO Krishna Nikhil $(document).ready(function() { adition.srq.push(function(api) { api.renderSlot("renderSlot_Rectangle-2"); }); }); READ ALSO: The Brands Miroslava has a passion for mission-driven work because she wants to use her skills to make a positive change in society As part of our ongoing celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month we are spotlighting some CPS employees whose Latinx culture has positively impacted their service to the District Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Chicago Public Schools Miroslava leads the teams that are responsible for fulfilling our District’s commitment to financial stability through effective budget planning and ensuring an equitable distribution of resources across the District Miroslava moved to the United States more than 20 years ago and began her career in finance in the private sector Her passion for mission-driven work began during her tenure as CFO at the Chicago Housing Authority where she was able to see up-close how it was possible to use her skills to make positive changes in society Miroslava then took her passion for promoting social change into the education field where she held senior leadership positions with Roosevelt University and Benedictine University before joining CPS in January of 2020 My team and I are focused on spearheading CPS’ financial strategy to support effective budget planning that supports distributing resources in a way that equitably serves all students this year the budget will allow CPS to build on successes by strengthening our Instructional Core and establishing a new standard of excellence for all schools in the wake of the pandemic We work to deploy resources in a way that allows us to prioritize small class sizes provide high-quality professional development for our teachers; and ensure safe healthy learning environments amid the continued threat of COVID-19 Our ultimate goal is to make sure each student receives the education and support they deserve which can be a very difficult situation if you don’t have any support I’ve been very blessed to have amazing mentors who have given me opportunities I have been helped through my relationships with other people and that’s why I love this opportunity to give back I do work that’s not about putting money back into the pockets of a corporation and I really value being able to see how public education makes a real difference in people’s lives.  The process of moving from Panama to the United States required me to be very adaptable Latin-American cultures are very relationship-based and my mentors helped me navigate that adjustment Being adaptable has been a great asset for me and my work and my background has also helped me to be able to work effectively with people from all different backgrounds I place a huge value on diversity and I love learning about different cultures and meeting new people which is huge in a district as diverse as CPS There are so many different cultures in our District which is an incredible strength of ours that we should embrace We should celebrate all the diversity within CPS and I love learning about the traditions and values that make each of us special I love to meet people from different backgrounds and walks of life— that’s what’s great about living in the city I like to move between a lot of different communities and I spend a lot of time at their soccer games with my husband I have also met many new friends through different hobbies Phillips plays an integral role in helping ensure that students are safe as they travel to and from school.  Reflecting on the remarkable impact of Jadine Chou This network-wide Gratitude Challenge was an amazing success This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Metrics details Maxwell’s demon describes a thought experiment in which a ‘demon’ regulates the flow of particles between two adjoining spaces establishing a potential gradient without appearing to do work This seeming paradox led to the understanding that sorting entails thermodynamic work a foundational concept of information theory many systems analogous to Maxwell’s demon have been introduced in the form of molecular information Here we report a functional example of a Maxwell’s demon that pumps material over centimetres whereas previous examples operated on a molecular scale this demon drives directional transport of o-fluoroazobenzene between the arms of a U-tube apparatus upon light irradiation transiting through an aqueous membrane containing a coordination cage The concentration gradient thus obtained is further harnessed to drive naphthalene transport in the opposite direction A demon must pay a thermodynamic cost to obtain information about individual molecules thereby offsetting the reduction in entropy when creating a temperature gradient across the system a physical demon’s capacity for remembering information about individual molecules must necessarily be finite; in forgetting this information to sort a new collection of molecules where a one-way gate composed of two optical beams plays the role of the demon driving unidirectional movement of particles over an optical barrier and into a higher-energy compartment naphthalene; green-covered region indicates the tube area exposed to light at 530 nm; purple-covered region indicates the tube area exposed to light at 400 nm FAB is distributed equally between the dodecane solutions in the two arms which is preferentially extracted from arm I by cage 1 transported through the aqueous layer and released into arm II Subsequent re-isomerization of cis-FAB to trans-FAB—promoted by irradiation of the second compartment at 400 nm—impedes the molecule from returning to arm I As the FAB molecules are directionally transported between the two arms the system is driven away from equilibrium Light energy thus drives information processing to establish a concentration gradient between the two dodecane compartments with no violation of the second law of thermodynamics The model gave the uptake and release rate constants for cis-FAB of kC = 0.42 mM−1 day−1 and k−C = 1.69 day−1 These rate constants indicate that the rate of cis-FAB uptake by cage 1 is higher than for trans-FAB. The uptake of cis-FAB from arm I is thus faster than that of trans-FAB from arm II at the beginning of the experiment (Extended Data Fig. 2) Cage 1 thus transports cis-FAB from arm I and releases it to arm II Since the isomerization rate constant of cis- to trans-FAB is also three orders of magnitude greater than the cis-FAB uptake rate constant cis-FAB relaxes to trans-FAB quickly due to irradiation at 400 nm after it is released into arm II during the forward transport resulting in the accumulation of trans-FAB in arm II Furthermore, we hypothesized that the release of a guest bound within 1 would be facilitated by competitive displacement. When cis-FAB is transported from arm I to arm II in isolation, the driving force for cargo egress would thus be smaller than in the presence of trans-FAB in arm II (Supplementary Section 13) where egress of cis-FAB may be facilitated by competitive displacement by trans-FAB This rationale implies a limit to the degree to which this system may be driven out of equilibrium as the transport of cis-FAB from arm I to II is partly offset by reverse transport of trans-FAB from arm II to I leading us to infer that the introduction of naphthalene in arm II not only drove redistribution of FAB but also reduced the amount of FAB stored within the aqueous membrane the driving force supplied by information collected by the demon is supplemented by an additional source of energy: the potential energy associated with applying a concentration gradient of naphthalene across the two arms The thermodynamic cost associated with pushing the FAB concentration gradient further from equilibrium is thus paid using a corresponding increase in the entropy of the competing cargo As with system 1, we sought to reverse the direction of FAB transport by reversing the light stimuli applied to arms I and II, monitoring the process using 1H NMR (Fig. 3a) and UV–vis (Supplementary Fig. 18) The final difference in FAB concentration between arms I and II (1 mM) an effect that we attribute to the varying distribution of naphthalene over the course of the experiment While the forward process began with naphthalene present solely in arm II the reverse process began with naphthalene distributed almost equally between the arms (arms I and II contain 5.4 mM and 4.7 mM of naphthalene wherein the potential energy associated with the naphthalene concentration gradient drove the system further out of the initial equilibrium the reverse process lacks that initial source of potential energy and relies primarily on the cis-FAB concentration gradient supplied by the demon concentration difference was observed in the reverse transport of system 3 Expanding the analogy between our system and Maxwell’s original thought experiment this experiment offers an example whereby two different species are distributed equally throughout two compartments Despite the demon being blind to the location of species B the act of collecting information about species A allows B to be driven out of equilibrium The coincidence of this transient concentration gradient with the induction period of the system suggests that the molecular gate in our system plays an active role in regulating passage of FAB and naphthalene across the aqueous membrane these two effects explain the rapid increase in the concentration of naphthalene in arm I during the induction period they are narrow enough to pass between the bars and thus they distribute themselves equally between the compartments Upon applying a stimulus to one compartment become too large to pass between the bars and begin to accumulate in that compartment thereby establishing a gradient of umbrellas one could also imagine two geometrically dissimilar isomers whereby one isomer could pass through a molecular gate while the other would be sterically hindered Our system relies on differences in binding thermodynamics and kinetics experienced by trans-FAB or cis-FAB and cage 1 FAB was synthesised using an optimized version of a reported protocol54 this compound would thus remain in arm II and would not interfere with the guest transport process triisopropylbenzene solution in dodecane shows an absorption peak in the region 200–250 nm which does not overlap with the absorption region of trans- and cis-FAB The cage layer was stirred at 250 rpm at room temperature with a cylindrical magnetic stir bar (3 × 6 mm) Trans-to-cis-FAB isomerization was promoted using light-emitting diode light strips with a wavelength of 530 nm and with luminous flux of 250 lumen m−1 and power of 2.4 W was promoted when irradiated using light-emitting diode light strips at the wavelength of 400 nm and with luminous flux of 200 lumen m−1 and power of 7.2 W The light strips were wrapped around the U-tube arms NMR and UV–vis measurements were taken regularly; 0.3 ml of solution from each of the dodecane phases (arms I and II) was taken for measurements covered in aluminium foil to avoid external light exposure NMR measurements were then taken before transferring the solutions into cuvettes for UV–vis measurements The solutions were then put back into the arm of the U-tube from which they had been taken out Care was taken to avoid external light during all transfers and measurements by covering the samples with aluminium foil measuring and returning the solutions to the U-tubes was carried out in less than 30 min in all cases Further details on the NMR and UV–vis spectrometers can be found in Supplementary Information This general procedure was used for all experiments (systems 1–3) in this study All data is available in the main text or the supplementary materials Mathematica code is available in Supplementary Information Information: from Maxwell’s demon to Landauer’s eraser Experimental observation of the role of mutual information in the nonequilibrium dynamics of a Maxwell demon Large work extraction and the Landauer limit in a continuous Maxwell demon Thermodynamics of a physical model implementing a Maxwell demon On the decrease of entropy in a thermodynamic system by the intervention of intelligent beings Thermodynamic limits to information harvesting by sensory systems Maxwell’s demon and the management of ignorance in stochastic thermodynamics Information-driven current in a quantum Maxwell demon From dynamic self-assembly to networked chemical systems transient formation of molecular hydrogels mediated by yeast activity Electronic Maxwell demon in the coherent strong-coupling regime Peptide nanofibers with dynamic instability through nonequilibrium biocatalytic assembly Shaping polymersomes into predictable morphologies via out-of-equilibrium self-assembly Guest–template synthesis of a kinetically stable nanosized cage Non-equilibrium assembly of microtubules: from molecules to autonomous chemical robots Collective behavior in out-of-equilibrium colloidal suspensions Electrostatic forces in field-perturbed equilibria: nanopore analysis of cage complexes Photoswitchable molecules as key ingredients to drive systems away from the global thermodynamic minimum Individual‐molecule perspective analysis of chemical reaction networks: the case of a light‐driven supramolecular pump Light-powered autonomous and directional molecular motion of a dissipative self-assembling system Enhanced photonic Maxwell’s demon with correlated baths Autonomous non-equilibrium self-assembly and molecular movements powered by electrical energy Information flows in macroscopic Maxwell’s demons Information processing second law for an information ratchet with finite tape Photocurrent generation based on a light-driven proton pump in an artificial liquid membrane Conversion of light energy to proton potential in liposomes by artificial photosynthetic reaction centres Light-driven production of ATP catalysed by F0F1-ATP synthase in an artificial photosynthetic membrane Active transport of Ca2+ by an artificial photosynthetic membrane Human-scale Brownian ratchet: a historical thought experiment Supramolecular transport of metal amine complexes through liquid membranes by the ionophore lasalocid Coordination cages selectively transport molecular cargoes across liquid membranes Competitive inclusion of molecular photo-switches in host cavities Dissipative assembly of a membrane transport system Non-equilibrium steady states in catalysis and supramolecular materials: why networks and language matter Maxwell demon that can work at macroscopic scales Kinetic asymmetry allows macromolecular catalysts to drive an information ratchet Insights from an information thermodynamics analysis of a synthetic molecular motor Fluctuation relations for irreversible emergence of information Hidden dissipation and irreversibility in Maxwell’s demon Pumping between phases with a pulsed-fuel molecular ratchet Synthetic molecular motors and mechanical machines An introduction to ratchets in chemistry and biology Artificial molecular ratchets: tools enabling endergonic processes Seven chemical separations to change the world Enantiopure water-soluble [Fe4L6] cages: host–guest chemistry and catalytic activity Photoswitchable nanoporous films by loading azobenzene in metal–organic frameworks of type HKUST-1 Download references This study was supported by the European Research Council (695009) and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/P027067/1) acknowledges the Jardine Foundation and Cambridge Trust for PhD funding These authors contributed equally: Jiratheep Pruchyathamkorn Jiratheep Pruchyathamkorn, Bao-Nguyen T Grommet, Miroslava Novoveska, Tanya K collected and processed data were carried out by J.P. Conceptualization and methodology were carried out by A.B.G. Mathematics and modelling were performed by J.P. Funding acquisition was ascertained by J.R.N Writing—original draft was performed by J.P Writing—review and editing was carried by J.P. Nature Chemistry thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations D2O) monitoring of the relative binding strength of trans- and cis-FAB and naphthalene to cage 1 in water Trans-FAB was first introduced to the cage solution and guest encapsulation was subsequently observed the trans-FAB ⊂ 1 signals disappeared while the cis-FAB ⊂ 1 signals were observed Addition of naphthalene displaced the encapsulated cis-FAB from cage 1 Concentrations of cis-FAB (green) and trans-FAB (blue) in arm I (hollow dots and dashed line) and arm II (solid dots and solid line) during the forward and reverse transport in System 1 showing experimental results measured by 1H NMR (dots) error bars and model predictions (lines) for each arm cis-FAB was observed to flow from arm I to arm II where it was isomerized to trans-FAB Upon switching the light stimuli in the reverse transport the flow of cis-FAB was reversed (from arm II to arm I) and the subsequent isomerization to trans-FAB was happening in arm I These processes caused the shift in the total FAB concentrations The grey dashed line indicates the point which the LED light strips were swapped switching from forward to reverse transport Raw data of the NMR and UV measurements for systems 1 Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-024-01549-2 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Her publishing empire now stretches across Russia and 10 other countries in Eurasia making her one of the region’s most influential fashion entrepreneurs The entrepreneur is also an avid philanthropist. She sits on the board of Natalia Vodianova ’s Naked Heart Foundation, is on the host committee of the 2017 Stanford Philanthropy Innovation Summit, and founded Peace Planet, a charity that provides urgent medical aid to children. In 2017, Duma announced the launch of Fashion Tech Lab, a “hybrid that combines an investment company, a multinational accelerator, and an experimental laboratory,” specialising in the development of smart textiles, wearable and nanotechnologies. Duma is a regular speaker and commentator on business and digital media. In 2015, she organised a panel on the “New Era of Commerce and Trade” featuring Jack Ma , founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, for one of Russia’s largest economic forums, SPIEF. She was also named among the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders in 2018 and the United Nations Environment programme has dubbed one of the "inspirational women" in STEM today. As well as being an active investor across a range of digital and fashion businesses — including RewardStyle, a monetisation service for publishers, Reformation, a green fashion brand, and social media marketing company revFluence — she regularly contributes to magazines such Tatler and Glamour. The world's biggest diamond miner will begin selling synthetic stones later this month after fighting for years to suppress the nascent industry. It's the latest sign that lab-grown gems have hit the mainstream. This week, Kanye West's slavery remarks spark outrage, meanwhile Nike chief executive issues apology after reports of poor workplace conduct. The Duma-Sergeenko affair is testimony to the high level of ignorance that still prevails in the fashion industry, but the social media influencers do not represent all of us, argues Joelle Firzli. BoF’s new podcast series will feature original conversations with members of the BoF community, looking at the news and events from the week inside fashion. This series will feature original conversations with members of the BoF community, looking at the news and events from the week inside fashion. The Swiss luxury conglomerate's surprise offer of €2.7 billion for full control of Yoox Net-a-Porter has put the e-tail giant in play. Miroslava Duma has responded to a disturbing video that has emerged of her making homophobic and transphobic comments, shortly after receiving a barrage of criticism for posting a racial slur on Instagram. This week, Abercrombie & Fitch launches gender-neutral collection for children, while the sustainable cashmere market has a transparency problem. In 2018, a growing number of fashion companies will aim to emulate the qualities of startups such as agility, collaboration and openness. This week, Jason Wu launches a capsule collection with tech firm Stitch Fix, and why only 0.08 percent of Snapchat’s users bought its camera sunglasses. More EntrepreneursElin Kling & Karl LindmanDesigners The people shaping the global fashion industry curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world Five years of captivating images gathered by the Woolsey Fire Recovery Project will be on display at the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center from Aug Welcoming over 60 community members on Aug park partner staff hosted a presentation to educate the public about the project, what is being uncovered by the research and how the habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains has recovered since the fire The exhibit is being sponsored by the Santa Monica Mountains Fund The project began in 2019 as a major collaborative effort to study the fire’s impact and long-lasting effects on the ecosystem and its inhabitants The project consists of over 180 designated sites surveying unburned and burned areas in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills with wildlife camera traps.  Scattered along remote locations to avoid human interaction with the wildlife the cameras gather a series of photos triggered when an infrared beam detecting both motion and heat is tripped The cameras provide researchers with the most authentic glimpse of wildlife in their habitat and are an opportunity to monitor rare species like black bears The images on display at the Visitor Center are the public’s first glimpse at these images the photos are usually used to track times Santa Monica Mountains Fund Wildlife and Volunteer Program Technician Miroslava Munguia Ramos hosted the public presentation at the visitor center and has hiked and monitored the cameras as a lead for the project we didn’t use any fancy equipment we let our research cameras do their thing. It’s a reallynice showcase of what our research looks like,” Munguia Ramos said. “This is what wildlife is up to when we’re not looking in places we can’t typically get to. We’re getting a sneak peek of the wildlife without worrying about spooking or disturbing any of the wildlife.” The project partnered the National Park Service Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and several private landowners to make the project possible. Ecologists and volunteers have worked to gather and sort through over half a million photos across the study area Munguia Ramos said the exhibit is the result of a lot of careful planning and patience. She explained that cameras could be placed for periods of two to six months but what is captured on those cameras will not be discovered until the end of that camera’s cycle “It’s a lot of work behind the scenes to figure out where and how long cameras will be placed but when we go out into the field and we see it all come together it’s really neat to see it all connect,” Munguia Ramos said Munguia Ramos explained that although the project began to monitor and support research in the wake of the Woolsey Fire the hope is that the cameras will continue to serve researchers studying the mountains, and will be a resource for researching and monitoring the effects of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing slated to open in 2026 “We’re trying to stretch more into long-term monitoring which directly supports other ongoing research looking at mountain lions and quail and soon will see how species compositions will vary across different sites before and after the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing,” Munguia Ramos said Munguia Ramos was happy with the turnout on Aug 10 and the overall interest and support for the project. She said the presentation was a crash course on the Woolsey Fire and what the baseline is now for wildlife in the area “Following the presentation we had an extra 45 minutes afterwards chatting with folks answering questions on what camera traps we use bits about the wildlife crossing over Liberty Canyon; it was nice a solid mix of people interested in the science and how the research is impacted it was a good time.” Munguia Ramos said The exhibit of research photos is on display between 9 a.m at the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center through Sept More information on research in the Santa Monica Mountains can be found by visiting www.nps.gov/samo or by following @santamonicamountainsnps on Instagram On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the still unpunished murder of Miroslava Breach a Mexican newspaper reporter who covered organised crime’s influence within the northern state of Chihuahua’s government Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and its local partner Propuesta Cívica (PC) are calling on Mexico’s presidential candidates to commit to combatting impunity for violence against journalists A well-known investigative reporter for two newspapers Miroslava Breach was gunned down near her home in Chihuahua City on 23 March 2017 for exposing the links between drug cartels and political groups in Chihuahua state in connection with local elections The three presidential candidates in the Mexican elections due to be held on 2 June – the Morena’s party’s Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo Xóchitl Gálvez of the coalition Fuerza y Corazón por México and Movimiento Ciudadano candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez – have been given a report about systemic impunity for crimes of violence against journalists in Mexico and are being urged to help fight for justice for these crimes Miroslava Breach’s murder is one of the two emblematic cases on which the report focuses While some of her murder’s perpetrators have been tried and convicted “The murder of Miroslava Breach is one of the most emblematic cases of violence against journalists in Mexico in recent years we want to pay tribute to her work as a reporter and to call on those who intend to lead the country to prioritise combatting impunity for crimes of violence against journalists In a country where the number of journalists killed is the highest in Latin America the future president must commit to protecting media professionals and to ensuring that justice is done in cases that are too often sidelined or only partially addressed One of the perpetrators of Breach’s murder also known as "El Larry," was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2020 And former Chínipas mayor Hugo Amed Schultz was given an eight-year sentence in 2021 for his role in the murder But many of the people implicated in planning and carrying out the murder are still at large and Breach’s family have never received any compensation from the Mexican state “The Miroslava Breach case has left its mark on the history of Mexican journalism not only because of the importance of her investigative reporting but also because of the circumstances surrounding her murder – the involvement of civil servants obstruction of the investigation from within the prosecutor's office and the threats against the journalist's family Not all those responsible for her murder have been brought to trial The mastermind and one of the perpetrators are still at large and the victim's family has not been compensated for this serious crime An event is being organised in Mexico City on 23 March to pay tribute to the brilliance of Breach’s work and her contribution to Mexican journalism It will include an exhibition of her investigative reporting while fellow journalists and representatives of international organisations will discuss her career Mexico is Latin America’s deadliest country for journalists A total of 72 journalists have been murdered in the past decade and no one has been held to account in more than 90% of the cases Athletico Palermo rewards players with lifetime escort services Beckham family feud “beyond repair” as Brooklyn and Nicola skip David’s 50th The UEFA Champions League is watched worldwide with TNT Sports Mexico among the networks broadcasting the tournament One of the channel’s pre-match shows is hosted by Miroslava Montemayor who recently made headlines not only for her sports coverage but also for her fashion choice during the broadcast the 33-year-old presenter quickly became a topic of conversation on social media Montemayor even shared a photo of her look on Instagram captioning the post: "I'm quite unbearable Miroslava Montemayor began her career as a beauty queen before transitioning into sports journalism A graduate of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) with a degree in chemistry she won the title of Señorita UANL 2011 and was the first runner-up at Nuestra Belleza Nuevo León 2012 she represented Mexico at the Miss International pageant in Japan Her journalism career began in 2014 at TV Azteca Noreste where she covered major events like the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIX hosting the Spanish version of NFL Live and appearing on Los Capitanes She later hosted SportsCenter in Spanish and the show Otra Ronda Montemayor became a presenter for the UEFA Champions League on TNT Sports México where she continues to cover the biggest football competitions she frequently shares content related to both sports and her personal life Miroslava Montemayor esta tarde en TNT sports pic.twitter.com/imIhYReqb0 Nogomania.com is a premier destination for football enthusiasts delivering fresh and in-depth content from the heart of the Ex-Yu region's football scene by Marcela Turati Help advance the Nieman Foundation’s mission “to promote and elevate the standards of journalism” by making a donation © 2024 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College Mexican-American mother and storyteller on a journey to reclaim her indigeneity Miros’ insatiable curiosity was nurtured by the wealth of oral culture and traditions passed down to her from her ancestors she has always been a storyteller with a desire to share stories reflecting her cultural richness a point of view integral to the world and our humanity Miros began her journey as an emerging filmmaker with her first project The Bears On Pine Ridge (Co-Producer and Executive Producer) This award-winning documentary was honored by Vision Maker Media and is being developed into an hour-long feature that will air on PBS in the U.S Miros began as a volunteer in 2020 and soon became a driving force as a producer for the project Her efforts have helped to take this short film project to dozens of festivals and screenings in an effort to spread awareness about the ongoing Indigenous youth mental health crisis Miros was also instrumental in helping the TBOPR project become a feature film expected to broadcast on public television early next year and why did you choose a career in documentary filmmaking Miroslava Gonzalez Coronado: I have been a storyteller my whole life and love to pass down oral traditions I sought ways to reconnect our family and my ancestral lands across the country I was yearning to become more grounded and it became even more important to document this journey to reclaim our cultural truth and to better understand where we come from to better gauge where we are going a friend whom I was mobilizing our community with suggested I help Noel Bass While I had no formal experience working on any films I helped Noel with our film festival strategy impact campaign and to write a grant that was selected by Vision Maker Media whose mission is to Engage And Empower Native People To Share Stories Documentary filmmaking has not only become a vehicle to continue the oral traditions I grew up with but also a way to heal by amplifying stories from traditionally underrepresented communities I strongly believe that everyone has an important story to tell and the more stories we share the better we can understand each other and find that we have more common ground than we thought.  IDA: Tell us a little about The Bears on Pine Ridge MGC: The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (in South Dakota) has declared three separate States of Emergency due to youth suicide rates reaching the highest levels in the country The Bears on Pine Ridge amplifies the voices two respected female elders who lead the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s only suicide prevention team while mentoring a group of suicide-survivor teenagers to find their voice encouraging them to bring hope and awareness to the reservation Many top organizations for suicide and mental health awareness do not have access to the reservation Data is very hard to collect in reservation communities especially when inside organizations can’t continue due to lack of funding The Reclaiming Native Truth (RNT) Project was released $3.3 million public opinion research and strategy setting initiative by IllumiNative resulted in comprehensive data and learning about the challenges and opportunities that Native Americans face in educating Americans and changing public perceptions The report found that “Invisibility is the modern form of bias against Native Americans...The majority of Americans know little to nothing about Native Americans...Many Americans are not clear how many Native peoples still exist” per the RNT Project (https://rnt.firstnations.org/research/) The study also found that 78% of Americans want to learn more about the Native American culture Very few are aware of the issues on reservations enough to be able to get involved in human rights efforts IDA: How did working on The Bears on Pine Ridge change your trajectory as a producer and filmmaker MGC: Strong Yaqui Women documents my journey to reclaim my cultural truth My great-grandmother was Yoemi (Yaqui) from the Sonoran desert She became a widow after her husband was killed for his lands and she fled to save her four children one of them being my grandmother who also overcame numerous obstacles as did my momma who is an immigrant and raised four children as a single mother I am eager to share with my son and nieces that we come from a long lineage of resilient matriarchs who sacrificed so much to allow us opportunities to thrive my roots and future generations of change makers We hope to create space in which young girls can be inspired when they to see themselves through the strong indigenous women we will feature like: Leannette Galaz Yaqui Stanford graduate advocating for affordable housing in Montana; Selina Martinez Young Yaqui-Xicana architect and professor at Arizona State University using high-tech gadgets to create 3-D renderings of significant Yaqui buildings and structures which are in ruins An important part of the documentary has been sharing our origins with my cousin Priscila who honors her immigrant parents’ and our ancestor’s sacrifices by becoming the first Latina Harvard Law Review President.  We also will seek to shed light on internalized racism Relatives participating in the project are from the Pascua Yaqui tribe and my mentor from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe who has more than four decades advocating for Native representation in the film industry Various members and groups within my Yaqui community including the Yaquis of Southern California and the Yaqui Pride Project IDA: Any final thoughts you would like to share with our members MGC: The UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report 2020 revealed that the demographics of film screenplay writers are 89% white 0.7% Latino and the directors are 84% white USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Report 2021 reviewed 126 films and 180 series produced by Netflix in 2018 and 2019 showed great improvement in gender and racial equality with most minorities as only 2.6% of all stories had a Latinx lead or co-lead Mexican-Americans are 12% of the US Population and close to 70% of all Latinos in America. Films & Television have tremendous impact in the narrative perception and the reputation of our community - the onus seems to be on documentary filmmakers to share stories that better represent underrepresented changemakers families and communities – stories told in a way that demonstrates how it is a constitutional part of our nation’s history of yearning toward “e pluribus unum” so that together we can deliberate on our past and present toward a more equitable path forward Please check out Miroslava’s website here Would you like to receive event invitations and other updates from the International Documentary Association virtual on Zoom or in-person at IDA Office in Los Angeles © 2024 International Documentary Association Privacy Policy Much of the narcotics industry in the Sierra Tarahumara is controlled by the Salazars, a cartel that took form in Chínipas. The Salazars pay for baptisms and funerals; they kill activists and journalists when their interests are threatened; and they monitor communications throughout their territory, which extends into the neighboring state of Sonora. Many reporters are afraid to venture in. But Breach drove the treacherous alpine roads of the Sierra in broad daylight, in a cherry-red S.U.V. For nearly two decades, she documented cartel crimes and political corruption that most residents would discuss only in whispers, and published what she’d discovered in La Jornada, a national newspaper, and Norte de Ciudad Juárez, a regional paper. Chasing leads for stories, she took hairpin curves at such speed that some colleagues refused to ride with her. “If I die,” she liked to say, one eyebrow rising, “it will be complete and in one blow.” Typically, after a stretch of intense reporting, Breach would crank up the music of the Cuban folk singer Silvio Rodríguez, drink some tequila, and spend a weekend hiking in the mountains with her daughter and son. Then she’d head back to her office. But as her investigative series continued, friends had noticed, she seemed discouraged. “Time for an update!”Cartoon by Edward KorenCopy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copied Breach was dead, and within minutes the news of her killing had spread through the journalism community in Mexico, and beyond. Javier Valdez Cárdenas, a prize-winning investigative journalist and a former colleague of Breach’s, who reported on drug trafficking in Sinaloa, wrote on Twitter, “Let them kill us all, if it is the death sentence for reporting this hell.” Within weeks, he, too, would be shot and killed in the street. On the morning of the murder, he went directly to the crime scene. He also alerted Patricia Mayorga, who had been receiving threats herself, that police protection was on its way; an armored police vehicle promptly arrived at her home. A few hours later, at a press conference, he stated plainly what other politicians, in similar situations, did not dare say: that Breach had almost certainly been killed as retribution for something she wrote. Miroslava Breach’s father, a struggling shopkeeper, died when she was eight. Shortly afterward, her widowed mother lost land that the family owned. “They almost immediately fell into poverty,” Aragón told me. For the rest of her life, Miroslava, the third of six siblings, gravitated toward topics of injustice and dispossession. After her mother opened another shop in a new town, young Miroslava often worked its counter, undermining family profit margins by giving away food to needy neighbors. Later, animated more by Karl Marx than by anything on offer in class or at Catholic Mass, she would come to understand how little occasional acts of charity meant in a context of intractable power. The Salazar family, before becoming a mafia, had been ranchers. Not long after diversifying into narcotics, however, the family began driving longtime inhabitants, including Indigenous peoples, out of the forests in order to use their land. By the early two-thousands, the process could be methodical and brutal. Families who were not of use as labor in the poppy and marijuana fields or narcotics labs were sometimes evicted from their communities at gunpoint. Adán Salazar Zamorano, a septuagenarian with a heavy brow and a handlebar mustache, is the patriarch of the family. In the nineties, under Don Adán, as he is known, the Salazars began to collaborate with the Sinaloa cartel, the famously violent organization once led by Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán Loera. In 2011, Don Adán, wanted by the U.S. government for drug trafficking, was detained and imprisoned in Mexico. Around 2016, his younger brother, Crispín, took control of day-to-day operations. The paper’s news director, hoping to curry favor with the governor, refused to publish photographs of the protest that might incriminate the police. Infuriated by the censorship, Breach helped slip the photo of the man covered in blood to La Jornada, a far bigger paper. When the image appeared on its front page, and El Diario executives realized that it had been leaked, she was fired and marched out of the newsroom by security. The story of how Breach, then the single mother of a young child, lost her job over a matter of journalistic principle circulated in media and activist circles. Mayorga was studying literature at the time, and remembers a friend thundering down a hallway at the university to tell her that Breach had been fired. “My friend had heart problems,” she said. “He was so angry she’d been fired I worried he might collapse.” As dauntless as Breach’s reporting seemed to others, she sometimes felt imperilled as she went about it, and in 2015 she decided to collaborate more with other reporters. She started her own news agency, eventually spending down her savings to pay the salaries of three other Chihuahua reporters. And she asked Mayorga if she’d like to team up. Breach had been impressed by work on forced displacement that Mayorga had published in Proceso. Although they were nominally competitors, the two women agreed that they might be safer, and have a bigger impact, working together. Over the next two years, they documented how the cartels subdued the citizenry and expanded heroin and marijuana routes in multiple towns by handpicking political candidates and infiltrating police departments. Cartoon by Roz ChastCopy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copied The nexus between drug traffickers and politicians, often called “narcopolitics,” is an especially risky subject for journalists. And yet Breach and Mayorga showed in painstaking detail how cartel leaders were setting up candidates for local elections. After a statewide outcry, the PRI was forced to pull two candidates, one of whom was Adán and Crispín Salazar’s nephew, Juan Miguel Salazar Ochoa, also known as Juanito. He had been running to become mayor of Chínipas. Chínipas’s mayor, Schultz, a square-jawed PAN stalwart, was among the politicians upset by her reporting. In 2016, she called him an “errand boy” of the narcos and noted that he’d chosen a nephew of Crispín Salazar as his chief of police. (The Chínipas police declined to comment.) Schultz had let Breach know that she could never set foot in the Sierra again. The murders of Breach and Valdez and the exile of Mayorga had a chilling effect on colleagues left behind. Marcela Turati, one of the country’s most renowned investigative journalists and editors, told me that it felt as though journalism itself was dying in Mexico. Governor Corral seemed more optimistic, at least about his crusade to find Breach’s killers. Less than a month after the murder, he said in an interview that “the material author, partners, and of course the intellectual author” of her killing had been identified, and that arrests were imminent. “We have practically all the elements to go and catch those responsible, and we are reinforcing the process and chain of custody with the greatest scientific, technical, and legal rigor,” he said. Corral wasn’t a conventional figure on the Mexican political scene. He thought of himself as an erudite defender of the free press and democracy, and went around with his tie tucked into a sweater, like a professor. As 2017 progressed, though, there were times when he carried himself with the swagger of a TV detective. One inhabitant of the house, it turned out, was a university student with close ties to the Salazar family named Wilbert Jaciel Vega Villa. He had disappeared around the time that Breach was murdered, but Corral and the police seized what he’d left behind, including seven cell phones and a laptop. On the laptop were audio recordings of Breach, Mayorga, and Piñera, the PAN spokesperson, including the recording in which Breach made clear to Piñera that she wouldn’t be intimidated. In October, Corral told reporters that Breach’s murderers were organized-crime leaders with a huge arsenal at their disposal and an ability to hide in remote areas, including outside the state, and that he had requested the federal government’s help in picking them up. The following month, Proceso reported that the organized-crime leaders whom prosecutors believed to be responsible were Crispín Salazar and his incarcerated brother, Don Adán. This litany of facts—hours upon hours of evidence—would prove of great use to a small band of journalists, most of them women, who were fast losing confidence in the state’s commitment to pursuing justice. As the new year began, these reporters started slipping into Chihuahua from all around the country, to secretly conduct a murder investigation of their own. A drafty two-story house in a middle-class neighborhood of Chihuahua City served as what they called their “investigative bunker.” Journalists rotated in and out of it, the hard core among them staying for weeks. They pored over the hours of evidence that had been recorded at El Larry’s public hearing, seized on leads that the state seemed to have dropped, and tried to pursue them surreptitiously, without attracting the attention of police or other officials. The ambient anxiety in the bunker was often leavened with humor—say, about how many hips would break when a team of mostly veteran journalists had to leap from the house’s second-story windows. But jokes did nothing to erase the simple understanding that, if Breach could be killed without fear of reprisal, so could they. Those in the collective taking the greatest risk, everyone understood, were the members who lived in Chihuahua. In much of the state, deep investigative journalism had virtually ceased, leaving the citizenry with little reliable information about their leaders. Were they worthy of support, or corrupt and owned by the narcos? All that many citizens knew, or sensed, was that it wasn’t safe for anyone to be asking such questions. The role of Ana, a photojournalist from Mexico City, was to help the collective create a list of people who might have had reasons to want Breach silenced. This responsibility entailed travelling to communities where she had reported and figuring out whose interests she might have threatened in the mining, timber, and ranching industries, as well as in the cartels. but the rest of me can be found right here twenty-four seven.”Cartoon by John CuneoCopy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copied collective members were shocked at what wasn’t in it: any indication that a state investigator had travelled to Chínipas the place from which direct and indirect threats had been coming steadily in Breach’s final months (Corral told The New Yorker that the state investigation was not yet finished when the federal government intervened.) Nor had tough questions been posed to the PRI and PAN officials who had warned Breach and Mayorga to stop reporting “There’s this myth that reporting on the cartels gets you killed,” Gibler told me if you publish specific information about who is doing what and where if you look at the majority of the more than one hundred journalists killed in the last decade in Mexico most of them were working on stories about the collaboration between the political state apparatus and organized crime.” Breach had done that work “very explicitly,” he added and names of criminal groups and political officials.” Collective members had long suspected Hugo Schultz the former Chínipas mayor who had warned Breach never to return to her home town when Gibler and three other members of the collective chanced upon Schultz at a congressional hearing on education in the state capital they decided that they owed it to Breach to confront and question him themselves—even if it meant they’d be recognized and their identities revealed to the cartel entered an elevator with his smiling wife and two bodyguards A video taken by one of them shows the face of Schultz’s wife fall as another member asks the politician “You gave [the Salazars] the recording—why did you give them the recording We just want your side of the story.” Schultz hesitated I am working— I am coöperating with the government.” the elevator ride would seem to encapsulate the quixotic wishfulness at the heart of the collective’s project: journalists The reporters chased after the politician’s entourage for a few minutes elements of the state’s version of the plot to murder Breach—that the killing had been orchestrated by El Larry the sicario chief—seemed to lock into place with uncanny precision One of those elements involved a pilot named Jorge David Coughanour Buckenhofer who owned a regional air-taxi service that connected Chihuahua City to other parts of the state El Heraldo de Chihuahua published several stories alleging that Coughanour also worked for the Salazar cartel and had whisked the supposed mastermind to Chínipas on his plane after the murder The flight to the mountains had ended tragically he accidentally hit and killed two girls who had been hanging out on the runway Collective members secured a state forensic report indicating that two girls had indeed died that night—but with small wounds on their heads that were inconsistent with being hit by a plane The collective’s suspicions were further aroused by the fact that Coughanour was unavailable for questioning either about those deaths or about the getaway flight after Breach’s murder One evening a few weeks after she was killed a car had pulled alongside Coughanour’s Mercedes where he was seated with a friend in front of an Italian restaurant in Chihuahua City the pilot was shot at least six times through the driver’s-side window Gibler visited Coughanour’s family and discovered that they were anguished not just because of his murder or because he’d been called a narcopilot in the paper but because the notion that he had run over bystanders while landing impugned his skills Coughanour had a reputation for safety so impeccable that he’d been chosen to fly the state’s most important political figures among them Javier Corral when he was running for governor Coughanour’s father shared with the collective the investigative file he’d received from the police Law enforcement didn’t get a warrant for footage from a security camera outside the restaurant and the responding homicide detective—who was also a detective in the Breach investigation—questioned only two witnesses at the scene Gibler came to believe that state officials had no desire to determine who had killed Coughanor was to give the public a hard-to-refute story of how El Larry had commissioned a pilot to help him elude the police in order to stop more penetrating questions from being asked Gibler told me that Coughanour’s father said to him one day “Even you are here because of that journalist’s murder not because of my son.” Gibler had replied an agency of the Mexican government was created to do what the March 23rd Collective would later try to do on its own: conduct a rigorous investigation of the facts when a journalist is murdered The Special Prosecutor’s Office for Attention to Crimes Committed Against Freedom of Expression was given the power to assume control of a state-level case if there appeared to be a connection between a journalist’s reporting and her death a FEADLE prosecutor was in control of the Breach case El Larry’s trial was to resume later in the year and Corral’s prosecutors had handed over state files FEADLE’s track record was something short of inspiring: since its founding according to reports from the attorney general’s office only one of FEADLE’s murder investigations had resulted in a conviction after complaints from journalists and activists He had a graduate degree in human rights from Northwestern University and had cut his teeth on the United Nations tribunal on war crimes in the Balkans They needed to take a break and refocus on their paying jobs and families instead of continuing a parallel investigation with many risks and no legal authority and other organizations were also doing what they could to keep the public from forgetting the case and surely with that outside pressure FEADLE would now ask probing questions in Salazar territory when collective members met with Sánchez Pérez del Pozo they were dismayed that he wouldn’t confirm that his investigators would be braving the mountains to ask questions (The prosecutor told me that it would imperil his investigators to say anything about where they went.) As the federal investigation of the murder of a reporter who exposed links between politicians and drug traffickers appeared to tiptoe around both groups demoralized collective members decided there was only one thing left to do: rest and then write the hell out of everything they had learned about the plot to kill Miroslava Breach heard about the emotional and investigative difficulties that collective members had faced Ronderos understood the personal toll of this kind of reporting better than most: she had worked through the nineteen-eighties and nineties in Colombia when reporting in many regions was perilous and later she contributed to an investigation by Colombian journalists of the 2002 murder of the political columnist and editor Orlando Sierra Hernández—a project whose example had inspired some in the March 23rd Collective Ronderos had since co-founded the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism and offered her Mexican counterparts its assistance Ronderos had also secured the support of two other organizations Bellingcat—an independent investigative group based in the Netherlands which is famous for its stories about Russian wrongdoing under Vladimir Putin—would help the collective do a last push for open-source intelligence research Forbidden Stories—a nonprofit formed after the Charlie Hebdo massacre to continue the work of journalists who have been assassinated or threatened—would help promote and distribute the collective’s findings in English and French as well as Spanish in Chihuahua City.Photograph by Natalie Keyssar for the New YorkerIn September nearly two years after a journalist made an illicit courtroom recording of the state’s evidence the March 23rd Collective published three investigative stories The first piece documented how state and federal prosecutors ignored leads about Salazar operatives and PAN officials The second examined suspicious murders and police failures linked to the Breach investigation including the filed-away killing of Jorge David Coughanour The final installment probed Breach’s work and the death threats against her More than seventy publications in Mexico and around the world published the stories “One of the first questions everyone wanted to know is: who’s behind this anonymous collective?”—the question contributors were Sara Mendiola and Sánchez Pérez del Pozo told me that they lamented the timing of the stories which had named and therefore endangered witnesses in the case of El Larry gives the collective credit for bringing international attention to the case at a critical moment “Not only was Miroslava’s life affected,” Sánchez Pérez del Pozo said in his arguments “but also society’s right to know these facts that we Mexicans would not have otherwise known.” El Larry was convicted of premeditated murder and that summer he received a sentence of fifty years in prison What came next from the office of Sánchez Pérez del Pozo was a genuine surprise to many people including members of the collective: he issued an arrest warrant for Hugo Schultz as an accessory to Breach’s murder ultimately receiving eight years in prison for helping the Salazars get information on Breach in order to target her In jail and facing charges of kidnapping a woman and holding her for ransom began to hear rumors that authorities might implicate him in Breach’s murder and that his own family had placed a hit on him Shortly before being transferred to a prison outside the state he testified that control of the town of Chínipas was essential to the cartel’s ability to smuggle narcotics through Sonora and into the United States and that Breach’s exposure of the cartel’s plan to install friendly mayors and police chiefs in Chínipas and other municipalities in the region had jeopardized its goal of a frictionless route into the American market whom Édgar identified as a daily presence at the Salazar-family compound became part of the operation to solve the problem Cartel leaders had initially hoped that a campaign of threats might scare Breach off and one of Schultz’s assignments was to gather more information about her Schultz admitted recruiting to this effort other PAN officials whom Corral would hire soon afterward as his personal secretary Luévano declined to respond to my specific questions on the ground that the case is still open Piñera also declined to answer specific questions and said that he bore no responsibility for Breach’s murder and had never been in touch with the cartel But one bit of information Piñera admitted collecting and giving to Schultz had helped seal Breach’s fate: the recording of the phone call between Piñera and Breach in which she said that she knew every stone in Chínipas and would not be deterred Schultz passed the recording on to the Salazars and after hearing Breach’s voice the cartel set in motion a new plan to silence it This plan would be the subject of yet another warrant the FEADLE prosecutor would secure Crispín had become alarmed by the “dirt” that Breach was stirring up—sufficiently alarmed that he sent an emissary to the prison where his elder brother was being held to discuss the problem with El Larry and other trusted associates gathered round Crispín Salazar made the decision to take Breach’s life Édgar told the judge that he was present when the chief of sicarios returned from Chihuahua City found the cartel leader in the middle of a large and raucous Salazar-family birthday party documented an unprecedented number of journalist murders in Mexico and underlying that fact was an even uglier one: the government’s failure to aggressively investigate earlier cases had helped produce the record-setting death toll It’s not outlandish to think that collaborations like the March 23rd Collective will help shape the future in the opposite way by demonstrating how a culture of impunity sometimes weakens under scrutiny told me that his organization’s minor role in the pursuit of Breach’s killers had inspired a second collaboration with journalists in Mexico this one investigating the 2012 murder of Regina Martínez Pérez “A journalist killed in Mexico is not only a Mexican crime,” he said “Because the drug cartels are multinational corporations.” told me that working as part of the March 23rd Collective allowed her and others to accomplish more than they would have been able to on their own and she’s optimistic that the model will prove useful elsewhere “So many journalists are afraid of being killed We see this in El Salvador or Guatemala or Nicaragua “But working together we can expose corruption without having to flee our countries In addition to sending El Larry and Schultz to prison Sánchez Pérez del Pozo has had success in several other cases including securing two murder convictions for the killing of Breach’s colleague more than a year after FEADLE issued its warrant for the arrest of Crispín Salazar federal law enforcement has yet to bring him into custody the work of the collective is not finished And perhaps even the members’ decision to speak to me is one more covert action on behalf of a journalist for whom partial justice would be an unworthy ending A long-ago crime, suddenly remembered A limousine driver watches her passengers transform The day Muhammad Ali punched me What is it like to be keenly intelligent but deeply alienated from simple emotions? Temple Grandin knows The harsh realm of “gentle parenting.”  Retirement the Margaritaville way Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Thank You for the Light.”  Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. The Bellingcat Investigation Team is an award winning group of volunteers and full time investigators who make up the core of the Bellingcat's investigative efforts Miroslava Breach lived under constant threat starting in March 2016 when she began to feel pressure over her publications regarding links between drug cartels and politics She brought this to the attention of her old friend the recently elected governor of Chihuahua state Javier Corral as well as those in charge of the mechanisms at the federal level to protect journalists The Colectivo 23 de Marzo is made up of Mexican journalists in collaboration with Forbidden Stories Bellingcat and Centro Latinoamericano de Investigaciones Periodísticas (CLIP) We reconstructed the thread of threats linked to Miroslava’s work the warnings that she raised about the danger she was in and the clues that she let in her publications prior to her murder on March 23 2017 that the authorities did not fully investigate a grey Malibu prowled down José María Mata street in the Granjas neighbourhood of Chihuahua Security cameras captured the vehicle on the street six times between March 21 and 22 2017 as it passed in front of the two-story house now infamous for the murder: number 1609 with its brown gates and a small garden out front journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea was shot to death while waiting inside her car to take her son to school One of her sisters stayed with her in her home a few days before her murder She remembers that on the afternoon of March 20 while they were getting some house they had just bought out of the car her eyes met those of a man who was walking in front of the home when she learned about her younger sister’s death she understood that she had been under surveillance Miroslava had grown used to living under threat as a result of her work No one has been able to determine how many threatening messages the veteran correspondent had received by the time of her death on account of her work for La Jornada national newspaper or for her sharp political columns for El Norte de Ciudad Juarez under the pseudonym Don Mirone The most relentless phase of these attacks began a year earlier, after she had published information about the intentions of a criminal group that she knew was trying to gain power, not only through force, but also politically: Los Salazar An article by Breach that resulted in increased threats against her “Organized crime runs candidates in Chihuahua elections.” La Jornada This large family from Chínipas, Miroslava’s hometown, and its members went from being simple ranchers to associates of the Sinaloa Cartel, wanted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Breach reported from the Tarahumara sierra in Chihuahua which is why she had first-hand knowledge of the region Miroslava’s relatives and friends noticed that she spoke about her death without qualms Miroslava insisted on leaving instructions in case she were no longer around She would talk about the life insurance policies with which she looked to the future of her 20-something daughter and her teenage son and about how they should split their inheritance and which of her sisters would look after her son Miroslava obsessed with renewing the expensive insurance policies for her children (which she held in both US dollars and Mexican pesos) like getting a quote from a business in El Paso Texas for installing bulletproof windows on her vehicle Miroslava never went through with her plan The quote came back between 60,000-90,000 pesos for just the windows and the year’s end had left her broke Rosa Maria also remembers that she told her sister whose bold articles no longer surprised the family that she should not tell them about any more threats if she was not going to take steps to protect herself Her family told Miroslava to inform her old friend The testimony from her friends and colleagues found in case file 19/2017-8019 of the Chihuahua State Prosecutor’s investigation coincides in stating that in her last weeks She would become emotional when she talked about the risks that journalists face and fantasied about retiring to dedicate herself to her other passion: cooking No one doubted that she would have made a successful chef she would also say that she could never leave journalism because impunity made her angry “Silence is collusion” was her mantra She made plans to strengthen her growing news agency and wanted to open a local edition of La Jornada the national paper in which she had published her stories for over 20 years Los Salazares had been making it known to her since 2015 that they did not like her articles. That year, she published an article that named them as being responsible for the murder and forced displacement of more than 300 people in her beloved Chínipas which she claimed was filling up with hitmen She wrote that article because she felt that the group had taken aim at “the people” including some very dear to her that were also forced to flee displaced by the violent territorial dispute that the group was fighting Miroslava Breach was one of the few journalists who reported on the forced displacements In the Tarahumara sierra which was being caused by organized crime groups “300 Families Flee from Drug Cartels in Chihuahua” 23/09/2015: https://www.jornada.com.mx/2015/09/23/estados/031n1est On March 4, 2016, Miroslava Breach and her colleague Patricia Mayorga from Proceso magazine simultaneously published an article claiming that mayoral candidates in eight municipalities (seven from the Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI and one more from the National Action Party or PAN) had connections to drug traffickers The two journalists had devised such arrangement to provide protective cover for one another “Organized crime groups have infiltrated the candidates’ lists for mayors mainly those of the PRI but also the PAN for the municipal elections in the sierra and in drug corridors this coming June 5” The two journalists agreed to publish the same article at the same time as a protective measure Among the municipalities they mentioned was Chínipas. The publication brought an end to the PRI-approved candidacy of Juan Miguel Salazar nephew of Los Salazares’ patriarch and founder Adan “Don Adan” Salazar Zamorano Writing under the pseudonym Don Mirone , she published a column (on September 10) in which she reported that the mayor of Chínipas Miroslava accused Medina Ramírez of being a criminal On February 20, 2017, just one month before her murder, Miroslava published an article in La Jornada and El Norte that might have been her death sentence she outlined that there were 10 municipalities where drug cartels had infiltrated local police forces and public works “Other municipal public safety directors as is the case with Martín Ramírez Medina in Chínipas had been ratified in their jobs with the change of administration even though they are connected to criminal bosses He is the cousin of Alfredo Salazar Ramírez who is currently imprisoned for drug trafficking and the nephew of Crispín Salazar Zamorano the head of a group that operates in the Urique Guazapares and Moris municipalities,” Miroslava wrote Breach revealed how narcopolitics operated in the Chihuahua sierra Organized crime groups not only attempted to run candidates in municipal elections but they also counted on directors and police officers among their ranks “Drug cartels infiltrate municipal governments in Chihuahua” 20/02/2017: https://www.jornada.com.mx/2017/02/20/estados/031n1est No one else in Chihuahua published that information Most of the local media had learned to keep quiet during the governorship of César Duarte Jáquez whom Miroslava was investigating for his finances and his links to organized crime The information about her inquiries into Duarte’s connections was revealed during the first hearing against the prime suspect of her murder in December 2017 while she went about her daily routine that included taking her son to his high school a man stopped beside her car’s door and shot her eight times Miroslava Breach was shot eight times outside her home while waiting to take her son to school The investigation conducted by the Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office was eventually taken over by the Specialized Division on Crimes Against the Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) of the Federal Prosecutor General’s office a year later. These investigations suggest that the mastermind behind her killing was Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa a man identified as a lieutenant of Los Salazar or Los Salalzares or the Gente Nueva Salazar In the first hearing of Moreno Ochoa’s trial on December 27, 2017, the state prosecutor unveiled an audio recording that experts from that office claim to have found in the home of the man who drove the triggerman to Miroslava’s house in a grey Malibu on the day of her death. The driver was a student from Chínipas, who was a relative of the Salazar and is currently a fugitive. The alleged hitman was later murdered Security cameras captured the grey Malibu that transported Miroslava’s killer to her home Source: Chihuahua State Prosecutor General of Justice which was found on the hard drive of a black VAIO laptop someone asks Miroslava to reveal her sources for the story on the Chínipas mayoral race An angry Miroslava responded with the strong character for which she was known that she was the only source because she was from Chínipas and that her relatives had also told her that publishing the article would be dangerous recorded a call with Breach in which he asked her to reveal the source that told her that a relative of Los Salazar was running for mayor in Chihuahua for the PRI Source: Chihuahua State Prosecutor General of Justice) The courtroom heard the following transcription of the audio recording: I have to talk to you about figuring out how you can help us There are people in the party there in [inaudible] Man: The people there in the highlands are telling me that we’re being accused of having blown the whistle But we can’t figure out a way to prove it MB: Tell me what places we’re talking about [A conversation is heard in the background The man asks someone in the room with him: “Where?”] if the journalists that published that information can attest or tell me they’re their own sources–not that they have to tell me who it was This would get these other people off our backs “Miroslava Breach is from Chínipas” “Miroslava Breach Velducea was born in Chínipas and she will not reveal her sources” please tell them that and let them place it [responsibility] on me because I’ve got ovaries and because I know how things are I’ve talked to my uncles and they’ve told me that they’re praying for me Miros: They’re not asking me to ask you to reveal your sources It’s that there aren’t any sources; there are no sources I simply stated the name of who it was in Chínipas MB: I simply brought that out to the world Tell them this: “I am the source: Miroslava Breach knows every stone in Chínipas So there wasn’t a source who went and told you this When I saw the candidate list and I started to report on it that’s why I reported about Chínipas And tell them: “It was Miroslava Breach” They’ve told them that they’re going to fuck them up But tell them: “You want to fuck someone up They know perfectly well that’s why I signed the article They should know that it was only me and that no one told me anything Man: What’s happening is that they are nervous They’re very nervous because they believe that it was someone from there one of my aunts called me crying because the pressure they’ve been under is gigantic that’s why I signed the article because I know what it’s like and they know I’m from Chínipas” and tell them that I’ve got more ovaries than they’ve got balls and that’s what caused this whole mess At the hearing that kicked off the judicial process against Moreno Ochoa it was revealed that the voice of the man in the audio recording was Alfredo Piñera the state’s spokesperson for the PAN Piñera confessed that he had recorded Miroslava during that call as well as in a second call that he made to the journalist from Proceso asking her the same thing because his cellphone had an app that records all calls Piñera said that he had handed over the two audio recordings to Chínipas mayor Hugo Ahmed Schultz of the PAN party because he had asked him for help in dispelling the suspicions of Los Salazar explained in his statement that he handed over the audio recordings to El Larry’s people because he figured that it was the only way to clear the suspicions against him from Los Salazar that he had been the source of the information that had brought an end to Juan Salazar’s candidacy for the PRI Press reports from those days echoed that Miroslava herself had accused Schultz in an op-ed column from November 25 2016 of being the “emissary for the narcos” and of “threatening journalists” Miroslava accused former Chínipas mayor Hugo Schultz of being connected to drug cartels 25/11/2017: https://issuu.com/nortedigital.mx/docs/edicion_nov25_51058dba377469/6 The revelation of the audio recordings became a national scandal The Chihuahua state prosecutors classified both Schultz and Pinera as protected witnesses The Colectivo 23 de Marzo—created by a group of Mexican journalists together with the international organisations Bellingcat the Latin American Centre for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) and Forbidden Stories—had access to the official investigation’s file Testimony contained in this case file shows that Miroslava was told by a relative to drop her investigation after publishing her story on “narco-candidates” and to pass on the message to colleague Patricia Mayorga from Proceso This was not the only warning that they received asked Miroslava and Patricia to stop covering those stories when they met him in a diocese meeting in the touristic town of Creel By then, Miroslava and Patricia had agreed to publish sensitive subjects like narco-politics together and in national media outlets, in order to obtain some protective cover. Chihuahua was not a state safe for journalists. 21 journalists had been killed until 2017 in the state At least four had been forced to flee to other countries a friend of Miroslava who had been Proceso’s correspondent The administration of César Duarte (today a fugitive of the law) had a tight grasp on the media and pressured outlets into publishing only what pleased him Breach making a brick with red earth in the Tarahumara sierra and that those who refused were being forced to leave A video recorded in Chínipas that Holy Week shows a singer named Alfredo Rosas in concert singing in honor of Alfredo Salazar Ramírez El Muñeco, imprisoned since 2012 and whose extradition to the United States has been blocked by a judge This collective looked for Piñera and Schultz The first said that he would not make a statement to our team The second did not respond to requests for interviews that were passed on to him by members of our team “In every one of her school notebooks you’d see the word ‘freedom’,” Rosa Maria Breach said on the first anniversary of her sister Miroslava’s death “That word had an impact on her (…) all of her investigations Breach began her career as a journalist in Chihuahua starting in the 1990s Rosa Maria said that Miroslava first began studying marine biology and that she moved to southern Baja California When she told her mother that she wanted to change majors I can talk about all of the abuses that are committed and that way we can have a better society.” She began to write for the university newspaper Newspaper from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur where Breach published when she was an undergraduate student in political science Rosa Maria said of her sister: “Whenever Miros published something it meant that she was very sure about it ‘No one will be able to refute what I say’ Miroslava?… going to la Sierra and doing all this You could get that information from a second or third-hand source and it would still be good information.’ She’d reply Nothing anyone can tell me would be better than what I can see Nothing that anyone can tell me would be better than information that I could find and corroborate myself.'” She remembers that she would even make time during family reunions to work and make her deadlines Miroslava was almost a legend among journalists in Chihuahua Her character was strong and she was foul-mouthed which made her unpopular with colleagues since she would not speak to journalists whom she considered lacked ethics She disliked sweet-talking politicians and she always returned the gifts that they sent her She would write articles that few others would have taken the trouble to write and her sharp pen was feared among the political class In 2015 she inherited the Don Mirone column which she had run for years with her friend and colleague Manuel Aguirre There was no such thing as a taboo topic for her to which she returned with her young daughter in 1995 especially those involving violence against women or the theft of lands from indigenous peoples in the Sierra Tarahumara She liked to drive her van through the highlands even though in recent years it had become a battleground for criminal groups fighting over control of drug trafficking routes Two photographers remembered her love for speed Whenever she saw that her passengers were scared she joked that the best way to die was in pieces Sometimes nobody would want to ride with her and she would go alone in her van In photos that show her reporting in indigenous communities riding a tractor o talking to people in community meetings Miroslava was known for her rigorous investigations She would say that she had to go see for herself the issues on which she would report Breach also wrote about megaprojects in the Tarahumara sierra Breach also had a very close relationship with the Raramuris communities in the Tarahumara sierra Breach was investigating illegal wells and cartel money laundering prior to her death Olga Aragón, one of her best friends and a former colleague at El Diario de Chihuahua and the independent magazine Aserto, remembers Miroslava in 1996 writing one of her stories in the newsroom: “while cradling her little daughter Andrea on her knees, she’d be sleeping there while [Miroslava] finished up another exhausting workday.” In an article published in La Jornada following her murder Aragon described Miroslava as a good journalist She wrote: “Her political science studies enriched where she developed a very personal style of elegant sobriety and subtle mordacity.” Miroslava investigated the properties of PRI governor César Duarte and was the first to discover the triangulation of funds at the Union Progreso Bank which he had created and where the public deposited their money In 2010 Miroslava focused on a story about the assassinations of the defense lawyer of the Rarámuri indigenous community in Baqueachi The courts had ordered them to return the land to the Rarámuri The journalist became very close to the lawyer’s widow Miroslava also became a protector and a friend of the indigenous community She helped them set up a library and was planning to get them goats so they could earn money was for the Rarámuri was for them a friendly and allied “chabochi” (“mestiza” in their language) whom they invited as a special guest to their festivals Breach had published articles about the illegal activities of Los Salazar in the Tarahumara sierra Starting in 2004, she began to follow the infiltration of criminal groups in electoral campaigns. At the time of her murder she was investigation illegal water well drilling and the purchase of high-tech irrigation equipment in at least nine municipalities in Chihuahua, all as part of a drug trafficking money laundering operation, according to La Jornada Denouncing narcopolitics in Chihuahua was not easy The state topped the countrywide list in number of murders and impunity since the 2006 declaration of the so-called “war on drugs” by then-President Felipe Calderón “Miroslava said that she had to start covering crime when the political beat morphed into a crime beat,” says Adriana Esquivel a young reporter whom Miroslava trained and with whom she lived with in Juarez when she was the chief editor of El Norte The general perception among those who knew her was that she did not talk about the threats made against her as to not scare her children and her relatives She handled these threats as something that was normal in her life “Sometimes she’d stay put at home for a few days” Chihuahua was already a state known for its amount of crime news it became famous starting in the 1980s for having the first industrial marihuana plantation it was famous for the unstoppable number of murders and disappearances of women who worked in maquilas that manufactured export goods and for being controlled by a drug trafficker named Amado Carrillo Ciudad Juárez was the most dangerous city in the world there were as many theories about who had ordered Miroslava’s killings as she had enemies as the collection of testimonies below shows (Each witness was given a pseudonym by the state prosecutor’s office to protect their identities): “[Miroslava] was aware of the world in which she lived The different topics that she was working could have been inconvenient or could have affected the interests of certain people She knew that this could generate backlash But she was also clear that she had a responsibility as a journalist” – Mila “She was a person who was very firm in her decisions and in her character She was collecting and documenting information relating to illegal activities carried out by the previous administration as well as information regarding the links to drug trafficking the illegal properties that governor [César Duarte] and his associates had bought” – Silver “She had documented all of the illegal ways by which governor César Duarte had enriched himself and of the relationship that drug traffickers had with various politicians and she was going to be revealing this information little by little She told me that she had information about the relationship between mines and drug traffickers and people in government.” – Witness without a pseudonym Miroslava bought several broadband services in other states so that her search history would not be visible to the sites that she visited “She said that the Chínipas municipal president was involved with organized crime in that area of the Sierra (including with members of the Salazar family) and that she also wrote about an organized crime figure in that mountainous area nicknamed El 80” – Monge “She wrote about the links between politics and drug trafficking and illegal logging (…) In personal conversations she’d talk about the situation in Chínipas a group of drug traffickers that were directly controlling the local residents who would say that they were tired of how these people acted in the town the killings and the drug trafficking” – Jaguar Everyone took note of her article on the narco-candidates and of the municipal police chiefs who had been put in their positions by drug traffickers “The residents [of Chínipas] had told her that the town had been taken over by organized crime groups (…) She always handed over her notes at the last moment “She said that criminal groups were pressuring regional political party leaders to run their candidates [these groups] warned residents that only the candidates that they approved would run” – Casio Other testimonies brought to light the pressure she endured As Miroslava herself said in her call with Piñera They had set up a base of operations there According to the case file in the trials of Adan and Alfredo Salazar they controlled the flow of drugs into the United States from there After the death of Miroslava’s father Los Salazares (as she used to call the clan also known as Los Salazar and Gente Nueva Salazar) had expanded their illegal businesses Miroslava published her first story on the abuses committed by the drug traffickers in the Sierra Tarahumara and mentioned Chínipas Based on a complaint made by non-governmental organizations that worked to defend the rights of the Rarámuri indigenous people Miroslava wrote about “the drug cultivators who sow terror (…) by committing murders and burning the homes of indigenous peoples in order to force them to work in the planting of marijuana and poppy.” “Drug traffickers from other states arrive at the most remote areas of the Sierra Tarahumara and take over indigenous lands to establish their illicit crop fields and force [the natives] to work in cultivation given the passivity of members of the state and municipal authorities” Chínipas is a town in Chihuahua located right in the middle of the Sierra Tarahumara along with its educational and health systems depend on the states of Sonora and Chihuahua Given its location in relation to the two border states it is a strategic location for the planting and transport of drugs between the column Don Mirone which Miroslava still shared with her colleague Manuel Aguirre and her stories in La Jornada Breach mentioned Adan Salazar Zamorano six times She described him this way: “He is another alleged drug trafficker whose fame suggests that he is becoming the main producer and buyer of drugs in Chihuahua’s highland region” 2000 she asked why Salazar Zamorano—who called himself as businessman—was arrested in the city of Chihuahua and then released despite having had in his possession military-grade weapons He was even issued a certificate stating he did not have a criminal record she reported on an assassination attempt made against Don Adán in an affluent neighborhood in the city of Chihuahua Miroslava wrote about how Don Adán was financing political campaigns “That drug trafficker is none other than Don Adán Salazar’ as the municipal presidents of Chínipas call him and he is known there as a big financier who gives money to the political campaigns of municipal presidents and lawmakers in that region The thugs who were arrested with an arsenal are mostly from the Guazapares and Urique areas where Adán Salazar holds an important amount of power just as he does in Chihuahua where it is increasingly evident that he enjoys police protection,” she wrote she denounced how drug trafficking organizations were influencing elections and about how armed groups were mobilizing voters to cast ballots for their candidates She also wrote about how municipal authorities were granting protection to drug traffickers and about the shattering of the traditional political party system on account of the injection of drug money Miroslava continued to write about what was happening in the region including the political protection that Los Salazar were receiving the discomfort in the municipality at the opening of the Palmarejo mine due to what she called “gold fever” in the Sierra She also wrote about the appearance of a ‘narco-message’ of the Juarez Cartel accusing Adán Salazar Zamorano and his son Alfredo Salazar Ramírez of having founded the Chihuahua chapter of the Sinaloa Cartel and of having operated with impunity in the state capital for ten years she mentioned how the prospered while two PRI governors were ruling the state Massa graves and a zoo were found in a ranch in Navojoa during drug-related search warrants carried out in the homes of the Salazar family in Sonora in relation to the disappearance of Jimenez Mota, according to an investigation called Projecto Fénix Three sources consulted for this project asserted that the Salazar family still has lions which –according to popular culture—it uses to disappear people Miroslava continued to cover narcopolitics She wrote that “candidates ask drug traffickers in Chihuahua permission to campaign” and that the Sierra Tarahumara was “a lawless land” under the control of criminal groups She also claimed that he was the one responsible for the first massacre carried out during the so-called “war on drugs”: the Creel massacre of 2008 which claimed the lives of 12 young people and a baby The Sinaloa Cartel moves drugs through Tarahumara 24/07/2011: https://www.jornada.com.mx/2011/07/25/politica/005n1pol she reported that the authorities were unable to set up voting centres in the Sierra due to threats from people linked to drug trafficking and that in Chínipas people had been forced to vote for the PRI candidate She also claimed that Los Salazares and other groups had roadblocks in the mountainous backroads Miroslava is not known to have received threats The first record of a threatening call came after she published the article about the 300 families that had been forcibly displaced from Chínipas. She wrote about how thugs arriving by land and air were looking for Los Salazar, and that they had terrorized people. She also wrote about something that people in the town continue to say to this day: that their telephone calls were being intercepted Miroslava accused Los Salazar of acting “with the complacency of the state police and the soldiers stationed in this area.” The next threat was related to the narco-candidates the Chínipas municipal president contacted Miroslava to tell her that El 80 wanted to talk to her “She told me this personally approximately one year ago telling her to not come by to the Sierra because they would kill her but she kept writing about the Sierra cartels and giving their names You can read about these articles in the news.” This statement caused controversy in the courtroom during the audience of El Larry’s trial since Schultz lives in a zone controlled by Los Salazar while El 80 controlled a different area The witnesses had difficulty stating definite dates Our collective conducted interviews to corroborate this information with four of Miroslava’s close relatives and a dozen of her friends and colleagues yet it is still difficult to establish a chronology Venancio (one of Miroslava’s relatives) stated: “One time I heard that someone talked to the victim on the phone on behalf of a group of people about killing a story… and she hung up on them” Miroslava told Patricia Mayorga (who now lives in exile and whom we interviewed for this project) that her relatives started to ask her to stop writing about the violence Mayorga told our team: “We understood [those calls] as the natural uneasiness that relatives get when we publish something sensitive The calls came from people that Miroslava knew and so for us that was a natural reaction,” she explained What mortified Miroslava most was that they used her relatives in the Sierra as messengers and that they were constantly being scared Javier Corral won the Chihuahua gubernatorial election on June 5 Miroslava was anxious for a change in government Corral had been a journalist before getting into politics and was Miroslava’s friend and that to a group of critical journalists known at that time for their investigative work little by little these journalists had been leaving their jobs as journalists A couple of them became officials in the Corral administration Following the threats for her publication of the story on narco-candidates, people continued to look for Miroslava to tell her what was happening. On August 6, 2016, Miroslava got back into the fight and published an article claiming that the cartels were forcing people out of their homes “The murder of entire families and the forced displacement of others of Chínipas which is located on the border with Sonora and Sinaloa in the Tarahumara range is an example of the general situation affecting the Sierra currently under the command of Crispín Salazar Zamorano unleashed a campaign to cleanse the region under his control of enemies.” In a press conference on the day of the murder, governor Corral admitted that she had spoken to him about the threats but said that this conversation had happened two years earlier Corral did not mention who was making the threats and was never asked to make a statement in the case about this issue she came to me very worried about threats that were being sent to her as the result of her publishing the articles that we all know that she published alongside a colleague from Chihuahua which directly addressed the structure of organized crime in Chihuahua we talked while I was still a national Senator She was worried and I made some suggestions to her as governor (…) ‘Miros’ never mentioned this to me that she’d been threatened or warned,” governor Corral said Governor Corral also mentioned then that the main thread the investigation into her murder would be the work that she had been doing: “Miroslava exposed up front organized crime groups [and] corruption in Chihuahua state, and that work is the main thread in this investigation”. Two days later, he told Proceso that the main thread to follow would be the narco-politics Miroslava’s sisters contradict his version of facts “There’s a conversation between [Miroslava] and governor-elect Corral in which she told him that she was being constantly threatened [with things like] ‘stop looking into things that aren’t your business stop talking about narcopolitics or they’ll kill your children so that she would see what she was causing with her stories…” A year after Miroslava’s murder, in the remembrance ceremony at the site of the Nails Cross, her sister Brissa Guadalupe told reporters that the cellphone taken by the Chihuahua’s state prosecutor’s office which had evidence of her plea for help to Corral “There was also a text message where she told [Corral] but that went missing when they got her phones the day of the [murder]” Miroslava’s relatives and colleagues continue to demand closure said something similar during the same ceremony “Miroslava told me that if something happened to her it would be on account of this [and that] it was going to be here on my phone (…) There were other threats and she recorded them These recordings must have been in her phone In that moment you are in shock and you don’t think about making a copy and we handed over everything those recordings are still missing.” These messages are not included in the case file Neither is the information she had in her computer and the hard drives that the state prosecutor picked up The head of the Federal Special Prosecutor Office (FEADLE) did not answer the Colectivo’s questions regarding these files Neither did the state prosecutor respond to our repeated messages requesting an interview about threats against her (Miroslava) and another journalist; first later in August when he was already governor-elect and finally in October when he had already taken office as Governor” wrote journalist Olga Aragón who interviewed friends and family during the funeral Our Colectivo managed to find a screenshot of a Whatsapp conversation that Miroslava had with a colleague Miroslava wrote that she had informed Corral about the intimidation she was suffering 20 Governor Javier Corral admitted that Breach told him directly about threats that she had received two years before her murder her relatives and colleagues say that she had told him about new threats at least a year prior to hear death [his] stance is very good in terms of the issue that we discussed that he would take charge of the situation with the mayor of Chínipas,” Miroslava wrote The person with whom she was speaking responded: “That’s great “I don’t know if he will,” replied Miroslava On September 10, 2016, one month after Miroslava talked to Corral, in her popular column Don Mirone she published a sharp criticism of Schultz “The residents of towns in the Sierra have learned that political parties’ acronyms come and go and all the while insecurity and violence do not change economic and political influence that the local drug traffickers have There are even mayors who serve their interests who has recently been active as intermediary.” She then published the story about violence in Chínipas from where an old acquaintance told her that Crispín Salazar was looking for her “Around October or November of last year we received—I don’t remember specifically how—a message that said that Mr was very angry with Breach over her stories and her publications that she had been putting out lately about their activities in Chínipas,” reads an anonymous testimony When a relative found out about Cripin’s threats and asked Miroslava what she was going to do Someone has to tell things as they are.” Miroslava denounced in several places the risks she was running but she never filed an official complaint with the authorities Her closest colleagues —some of them from her own MIR news agency– knew that she did not believe that journalists should receive special treatment or make themselves out to be victims she spoke publicly about the threats in a meeting of the Federal Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in the city of Chihuahua human rights defenders and representatives from the country’s Interior Ministry She spoke about the difficulties of working as a journalist in Chihuahua and the reprisals that she had faced over the publication of criminal interference in elections Her opinions were included in the final document to come out of the meeting The attendees spoke about the need to activate an alert plan that Section six of the draft of that document reads: “Threats Due to stories regarding: narco-candidates On the issue of risks faced by journalists the draft document contains the following: oral and via telephone about what they are writing Organized crime reacts to articles immediately (…) correspondents who cover this face the gravest risks.” Breach not only told Corral about the threats that she had received: she also mentioned the thrats during a meeting of the Federal Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists Another cause of threats for journalists and human rights defenders mentioned in the meeting was the reporting on mega-projects and mining projects there were human rights defenders who were already participating in Corral’s transition team and later became members of his staff Public officials of the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists gave a final diagnosis of the risky situation to governor Corral and members of his staff to undersecretary of the Interior Ministry Roberto Campa and to journalists and defenders This document tacitly reflected information about the threats against Miroslava and others It is not known what effect governor Corral’s actions could have had on the threats that Miroslava told him about. However, Don Mirone mentioned Schultz on November 25 2016 as an “emissary” of the drug traffickers and someone who threatened journalists By then the former mayor of Chínipas was coordinator of education for the Sierra region for the Corral government A relative of Breach told our team in an interview that Miroslava had run into Schultz in one of the hallways of the state government house and that she had become very angry by that Miroslava began to tell her family and friends that the situation at the state was going to get worse and warned that a journalist —possibly her— would be killed she asked for the quote for a bulletproof glass for her vehicle “She said that 2017 looked difficult in terms of money everything related to the state,” another witness stated “She explained that ever since Corral had won the governorship things were going to become very difficult because his government included many people from the previous one and Duarte [the previous governor] was working to protect himself so that he would not be questioned and things were going to get complicated in relation to the drug cartels and the violence” The same witness added that Miroslava said that “the cartels’ intention was to destabilize the Corral government” and spoke of new threats she had received She said that Miroslava told her that “things are going to get hairy” and that “there was a list of three or four journalists that they were going to kill Another person close to Miroslava said that she told her “… that she was angry because she had given Corral information during his campaign information relating to her investigation and that he had not acted on it because that was valuable information.” This was related to her investigation on Duarte’s properties as was confirmed to this team by the witness Another person said that Miroslava had said that an unspecified public official sent her a warning and insinuated something about her children A relative asked Miroslava to take the matter to the FEADLE In a story published by Proceso magazine on the first anniversary of Miroslava’s murder journalist Patricia Mayorga wrote that they had breakfast together on February 1 She told the Colectivo from her exile that Miroslava told her that “the calls were still happening [and] that her family in Chínipas was worried because she kept publishing.” Mayorga noted that Miroslava appeared sad that day and that she was wondering if it was worth the risk Miroslava spoke about the case of a federal lawmaker who had just died and that at least he had been able to leave money to his family She wondered about dedicating her life to cooking but she would then tell herself that she could not do it because if she were to abandon journalism she would be unable to look at her children in the eyes On February 18, 2017, Miroslava wrote about the “orgasmogramo in the palace,” in reference to a scandal regarding allegations of governor Corral’s extra-marital affair Her reporters in El Norte said that she asked the paper not to cover the affair because it was a private matter and it could be dangerous On February 20, 2017 she published an article tackling armed groups directly It was titled “Narco Groups Infiltrate Municipal Governments in Chihuahua” and was based on reports from intelligence authorities and the state prosecutor’s office Even though she had agreed to a joint publication with Proceso for some reason she published it at an earlier date The story talked about local directors of public security with links to criminal groups in Chínipas she was investigating forced disappearances attributed to this man Miroslava was staying at her sister’s home that day and that she remembers that “among lighthearted chatter she reminded me to take care of her children.” Miroslava and other journalists approached the Chihuahua state attorney general after he gave a press conference on the violence in the Sierra Tarahumara and about the murder of the Rarámuris leader Isidro Baldenegro a world-renowned environmentalist and winner of the prestigious Goldman Prize ” We asked him about why there were several known crime bosses in several municipalities [and that] all of the residents know who they are and where they live but they don’t get arrested even though some of them are on the [Mexican government’s] most wanted list.” Peniche said that when they took over the state government Breach had already distanced herself from governor Corral She told him sarcastically to not be so quick in investigating his predecesor the op-ed column in which she had mentioned the scandal after an assistant to a lawmaker had made public statements about the extramarital issue she passed on her investigations into organized crime to Javier Corral while he was running for governor of Chihuahua state She seemed annoyed with many social activists who had been her old friends and allies many of whom had agreed to work with the so-called New Dawn government In the last press conference she attended to she criticized them harshly for omitting the names of water hoarders in the state her former boss at the El Norte de Ciudad Juarez said in his testimony that Miroslava had told him that she was thinking about retiring and that she for several weeks she had not been able to focus on her work something that had never happened before took place: he had to call her to remind her to submit an article Cantú shared two pictures with the state prosecutor’s office He never asked Miroslava why she had sent him that picture They speculated that the young man was following her and that she caught him in the act and took a picture of him She also sent him a picture of a police operation in an unknown location When a relative asked her why she did not make a formal complaint about her situation to the authorities an angry Miroslava responded by saying that “they’re stupid if they don’t already know” She also said that Corral would have a big problem if a journalist were killed in his state someone left a note at her home in March threatening her who was engaged to be married at the end of the year asked one of her younger sisters to take care of her younger son Her sisters remember another premonitory moment from Miroslava’s last days she should buy a plot of land in the area surrounding the greenhouse with the half of the money that she would get and that the other half belonged to her brother,” she said “I am sure that my sister was getting more threats than she talked about” On May 21 2017, the gray Malibu with a spoiler, tinted windows and stylized rims was caught by security cameras outside Miroslava’s home at 19:43 and 19:45. On March 22, in her Don Mirone column Miroslava accused Chihuahua State Prosecutor Peniche of being co-responsible for violence in the state given that he had been the Federal Prosecutor’s General representative in the state during the Duarte administration she had an argument during an International Water Day conference with some of her former activist allies whom she accused of having lost their critical spirit with the arrival of governor Corral the grey vehicle drove by her house again four times between 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM At an event at the Nails Cross monument on the first anniversary of their sister’s death the Breach brothers said that Corral had told them that she was to blame for her own death because “she had stepped on the devil’s toes” by investigating dangerous topics “That phrase from the governor is a slap in the face to our family, to the journalists’ guild and to all Mexicans, because it comes from an official who is responsible for enforcing the basic rights to life, liberty and security,” one of her brothers said Governor Corral has denied saying this to the Breach family The investigation by the Chihuahua State Prosecutor General of Justice did not inquire into the relationship between politicians and drug traffickers as revealed in Miroslava’s work The head of FEADLE did not comment on this matter The Breach brothers have asked FEADLE and federal authorities to take over the case given that as civil society organization Propuesta Cívica documented they did not have access to the case file for 10 months the only person arrested in connection to the murder has been Juan Carlos El Larry Moreno Ochoa Three people connected to the murder have been killed. These killings have not been properly investigated. They rummaged through her documents but did not steal anything It looked as if they were looking for something She was looking after Miroslava’s abandoned home This year alone in Sonora, at least six banners have appeared in different cities accusing Los Salazar (Adan, Alfredo and Crispin) of committing the murder, and an anonymous video making the same claim circulated on social media shared by Chihuahua news outlets. Miroslava’s documents have been useful to inform cases against local criminal groups, state prosecutor Peniche told local press. They might have helped in other cases, but not in that of Miroslava Breach Velducea, the journalist who refused to remain silent because, as she said, “silence is collusion.” 2018Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesIn this op-ed writer Amira Rasool explains why Ulyana Sergeenko and Miroslava Duma’s apologies are even more telling of their lack of respect for black people several members of the fashion community have pledged to fight for inclusion within an industry that has historically catered to white audiences under the supervision of predominately white corporations Although significant strides have been made to reverse the visual absence of diverse racial and gender characters the overall fashion industry has yet to adapt a social climate that properly reflects diverse experiences The most recent scandal targeting the black community has come from digital entrepreneur and Buro 24/7 cofounder who callously posted an Instagram photo of a personalized fashion show invitation sent by her good friend Ulyana Sergeenko “To my n*ggas in Paris.” The two women received significant backlash on social media from people who condemned their usage of the racial slur Instagram/MiradumaAs much as the actual act of Ulyana writing the card and Miroslava carelessly reposting it was deplorable the statements both women released in response to the public backlash are even more telling of their lack of respect for black heritage Having posted an apology yesterday on Instagram Miroslava briefly acknowledged her wrongdoings and I regret promoting it and am very sorry,” said Miroslava in a five-sentence Instagram response “My organizations and I are committed to our core values of inclusion and diversity.” she does less apologizing and more justifying of her use of the word; in fact she did not mention plans to stop using the word at all “Kanye West is one of my favorite musicians and NP is one of my most favorite songs,” said Ulyana in a since-deleted Instagram post we call each other the N-word sometimes when we want to believe that we are just as cool as these guys who sing it.” The remainder of the apology went from throwing Miroslava under the bus for “naively” posting the invitation publicly to politely asking that the offended not display their “anger” because worse things are happening in the world This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from The inconsistencies and ambivalence displayed in both responses are extremely alarming the mere mentioning of her company’s diverse and inclusive values made the apology appear as nothing more than a corporate PR stunt that sought to distance the company’s reputation from her own which was significantly more egregious than Miroslava’s comes off as both dismissive and self-victimizing The referencing of her daughter’s Armenian heritage (that despite what she might think has absolutely nothing to do with black heritage) and the consistent referencing of her harmless intentions does nothing more than to challenge the justified responses of the community she offended Without respect or knowledge of black people by the fashion community black culture and black bodies will continue to serve as nothing more than ornamental figures celebrated and used out of trend rather than inclusion As defining and “cool” as black culture and hip-hop may be it is inappropriate and insensitive to remove the social and the political implications of its most important symbols and interpret it in a way that is not authentic to its origins Despite the exhaustive controversy surrounding black people’s use of “n*gga,” the fact still remains that white people cannot use the word in any context and the most rudimentary knowledge of history should be enough to justify why Getty ImagesAs Ulyana shared in her statement there is indeed a lot of “anger” in the world and it must be stopped But there is no possible way to quell the anger associated with black rage without recognizing the perpetrators that incite it Miroslava and Ulyana are those perpetrators and if their apologies were any indication Related: People Are Calling for a Boycott of Ulyana Sergeenko’s Fashion Show for Her Use of the N-Word Proceedings in the high-profile Vitals healthcare corruption case were brought to an abrupt halt today when prosecutors declared they could not proceed with testimony from key expert witness Miroslava Milenović following a criminal complaint filed against her Today’s sitting involved former deputy prime minister Chris Fearne and self-suspended Central Bank Governor Edward Scicluna in what is Malta’s biggest corruption investigation The prosecution’s reluctance to call Milenović stems from a criminal complaint lodged yesterday by several defendants including disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat The complaint challenges Milenović’s credentials particularly her qualification as a forensic accountant a revelation that emerged during cross-examination on 13 November when she admitted to not holding an active accounting warrant Defence lawyer Franco Debono expressed bewilderment at the prosecution’s position arguing that the existence of a complaint should not automatically preclude Milenović’s testimony “We are operating in the dark here,” Debono argued demanding the prosecution provide concrete justification for their stance The clear intention of Muscat and the other co-defendants who filed the criminal complaint is to cast doubts over Milenović’s credibility and work which ironically includes her role in the Egrant inquiry which delved into the allegations that the disgraced former prime minister owned a secret company in Panama Despite the demand for a criminal investigation Milenović’ maintains over two decades of accounting experience and certification as a fraud specialist lawyer Stefano Filletti highlighted the serious implications of Milenović’s expert testimony faces a €40 million asset freeze based partly on Milenović’s findings “Here sit individuals who have lost their livelihoods and reputations due to Miroslava Milenović’s work,” Filletti declared The timing of the criminal complaint also came just before Milenović was scheduled to testify in a related case involving Pakistani businessman Shaukat Ali yesterday The criminal complaint alleges multiple offences including violations of the Accountancy Profession Act and potential fraud Adding another layer of complexity to the proceedings defence lawyer Giannella de Marco expressed concern about the impact of repeated postponements on the defendants many of whom had rearranged significant commitments to attend the hearing She pointedly questioned whether Milenović “has something to hide” by avoiding testimony which has been split into two separate proceedings due to the substantial number of defendants and varying charges We use cookies to ensure users are given the best experience on our website We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the various categories Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms The _cf_bm cookie is used by OneSignal to facilitate the delivery of web push notifications on this website Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors This cookie is installed by Marfeel Solutions Registers data on visitors' website-behaviour This is used for internal analysis and website optimization This cookie is installed by Facebook and identifies browsers for the purposes of providing advertising and site analytics services This cookie is installed by Google Analytics Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns The OAID cookie is set by our Adserver to deliver targeted ads on the  website It tracks user interactions with ads (e.g. impressions) to optimize ad delivery without collecting personally identifiable information This helps provide relevant ads based on browsing activity Other cookies are those that are being identified and have not been classified into any category as yet Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission In a lengthy caption, Duma wrote that her illness made her reassess her life as an influencer and editor. “My entire life I was seeking approval and obsessing over ‘likes’ both in the physical and virtual worlds, without realizing that I actually had to learn how to ‘like’ myself first. Years of self criticism and doubt, stress, dieting, physically, mentally and emotionally pushing and pushing myself got my immune system to collapse and I had made myself fatally sick.” A post shared by Miroslava Duma (@miraduma) on Dec 1 This announcement may come as a surprise for anyone who has followed Duma for a long time. She’s still been posting regularly, mostly about her vacations, kids, and sustainable fashion company, Future Tech Lab. But there have been subtle changes. She hasn’t been posting about Fashion Weeks (although this may be because of recent scandals) She went to the Extinction Rebellion protests in London in lieu of the shows and these days you’re more likely to find a photo of Greta Thunberg on her page than a street-style shot Duma wrote that she had shifted her mentality and didn’t care so much about likes or external validation It is measured by how I choose to contribute to the world,” she said She ended her note thanking everyone in her life with “all my heart (and my lungs).” By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. There was an error processing the request. Please try again later. MENUCULTUREMiroslava Duma’s Transphobic Comments Are Addressed in Open Letter By Andreja PejicFashion hasn’t always celebrated Pejic posted a video of offensive remarks Duma made in 2012 during a presentation where she called transgender identity a “trend” that she hopes “fizzles out.” but had already made a name for herself in fashion as an androgynous model who worked between both mens and womenswear Rather than simply condemn Duma’s hurtful words which were recently unearthed in the wake of her and Sergeenko’s ignorant racism Pejic took the opportunity to share her thoughts about inclusivity in fashion and how it’s changed over the years since she started in the business where a woman by the name of Miroslava Duma said some pretty ugly things about @bryanboycom and me during a conference (scroll right to see) I wont say it wasn’t hurtful,” Pejic wrote on Instagram “However instead of focusing on this blatant ignorance I couldn’t help but realize the contrast between the state of our business today in comparison to 2012 The beloved model also took the opportunity to reflect on her own successes “Today I can say I’ve walked for iconic designers like @MarcJacobs and even landed on pages of American Vogue as none other than myself However for a long time I didn’t believe that I was deserving of a firm place in fashion I remember when I was one of only two people representing a specific ‘trend’ that many people would now place under the title ‘gender diversity in the fashion space.’ Circa 2010 my friend @LeaT and I found International media attention on the one hand and no small amount of ignorance and scorn on the other Today we are part of a movement of unique talent that is smashing the old categories that once stood and proudly displaying a spectrum of age/color/gender/class @miraduma ‘s hopes that “this trend fizzles out quickly” have not been realized Duma has since apologized for her transphobic comments in a note on Instagram “I am deeply ashamed by the comments I made in 2012 I’m as shocked as anyone to be viewing that footage today and see for my own eyes how utterly offensive and hurtful my actions were back then And when I consider that my comments were made in front of an audience of students — young people with open minds and positive attitudes — it makes them seem all the more insensitive and out of touch.” Duma says she has changed though “The person I was six years ago is not who I am today,” she says ignoring the fact that she just recently reveled in a note from a white person sent to her that addressed her with the n-word (a Kanye lyric) “I deeply respect people of all backgrounds: I believe in equality for everyone Peijic addressed Duma’s apology in her own note “I understand that an apology has been issued and I DO think people should be given the chance to grow bros and non binary siblings who don’t have the resources to fight back pay for medical care or the support of thousands of followers and who experience cruelty directed at them only because they have the guts to follow their hearts and minds in the hope of an honest Evolution is no stranger to our cause and one day we’ll see revolution❤️” Related: Daniela Vega Is the Fantastic Transgender Woman in the Oscars’ Best Actress Race Creative direction Tyler Mitchell and Noah Dillon “Warhol always knew a great beauty when he saw one.” Jack Pierson and Jimmy Paul at an NYC pride parade in 1983 “‘Kiki’ is a world where LGBTQ youths of color are empowered by staging dance competitions I photographed these Kiki dancers at the premier of the movie ‘Kiki’ in East Harlem in 2016.” Photo by Janette Beckman “Terri Toye was our muse and the fav of Stephen Sprouse – even did the catwalk for chanel in Paris Terri Toye is now active in Reconstructing houses damaged by Hurricanes down south I styled her as a girl the first times she needed those clothes!” -Maripol Events in Europe’s top competition last night saw a last-gasp Bayern Munich equaliser break Celtic’s hearts to dump the Scottish champions out However, the night’s entertainment got underway in Italy as AC Milan attempted to overturn a first-leg defeat against a depleted Feyenoord team Despite taking the lead in the opening minute the Rossoneri were later reduced to 10 men when captain Theo Hernandez was shown a second yellow for diving as Feyenoord drew level on the night to hold onto their aggregate lead The TNT Sports host had fans' attention(Image: TNT Sports)Article continues belowAside from the footballing action fans were treated to coverage from Mexican presenter Montemayor The 35-year-old stunner appeared in a low-cut blue dress which left little to the imagination for viewers with the straps of her outfit seemingly working overtime who is a Mexican beauty pageant titleholder and represented her country at Miss International 2013 in Japan posted a screenshot of herself working on the game to her 394,000 Instagram followers Montemayor previously competed in beauty pageants(Image: @miroslavamont/Instagram)The blonde bombshell’s caption translated to: “I'm very unbearable I think they made an eye on me (crazy emoji).” Her fans soon swooned over her in the comments section with one calling her: “Pretty as always.” A second echoed: “You look beautiful” While a third added: “When God invented beauty he was inspired in you.” Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Football email newsletter From the latest transfer news to breaking stories Simply click on this link then provide your email address and that's it You'll receive an email with all of the top football stories You can also sign up for our sport email, Off the Ball, for all the latest darts, boxing, snooker, F1 stories and more, right here In 2019, she left ESPN to take up her current role at TNT Sports where she works covering the Champions League for the Mexican audience. The 35-year-old sportscaster, from Guadalupe, is in a relationship with Club Tijuana President and owner Jorge Alberto Hank, the son of Jorge Hank Rhon - an infamous businessman and owner of Mexico's largest sports betting company, Grupo Caliente. Montemayor announced her engagement to Jorge Alberto on Instagram in September 2019. The Business of FashionAgenda-setting intelligence analysis and advice for the global fashion community accelerator and experimental laboratory to commercialise new technologies and sustainable innovation for the fashion industry.Miroslava Duma | Source: Courtesy By Robb Young Limei Hoang12 May 2017The Daily Digest NewsletterThe essential daily round-up of fashion news access one complimentary BoF Professional article of your choice Receive news, offers and invites from BoFOur newsletters may include 3rd-party advertising, by subscribing you agree to the Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy connects and develops cutting-edge technologies and sustainable innovation with the aim of transforming the fashion industry Investment targets will focus on the fields of materials science wearable electronics and high–performance fibres and fabrics The new company, Fashion Tech Lab (FTL) forms part of Duma's rapidly expanding empire which includes Russia-based fashion and lifestyle digital platform Buro 24/7 currently published in 11 international editions a US-based online shop for mothers and their children adding yet another layer to her many business interests that span across fashion The decision to set up FTL follows Duma’s previous investments in tech- and sustainability-focused fashion companies such as ethical fashion brand Reformation a monetisation service for fashion influencers those are the ones who demand sustainability in every single area of their lives,” Duma told BoF who added that part of her decision to set up FTL was driven by a personal quest to find environmental and sustainable solutions for the fashion industry “The fashion and apparel industry is the second-largest polluter in the world… I was shocked [when I found out] and started to think what we could actually do about it,” she continued Then we are connecting technologies with the fashion industry which develops the technology [and applies it to] products or garments that will be innovative and solve customers’ problems – but at the same time will have modern design.” FTL is what Duma calls a hybrid of a venture capital fund accelerator and an experimental laboratory meet with those in the industry and experiment with the latest technologies to accelerate the fashion industries’ efforts to be more innovative and sustainable Orange Fiber and Ferragamo's clothing collaboration | Source: Courtesy The company’s investment arm has secured at least $50 million to invest in sustainable companies like Diamond Foundry and Orange Fiber both of which are looking at ways to create sustainable materials that the fashion industry can use like man-made diamonds and fabrics made from orange peelings FTL has also invested in a start-up based in San Francisco exploring the production of lab-growth leathers "It's anything from dresses to scarves," said Duma who launched into great detail about the benefits of the recycled fabric the funny thing is they work with the biggest juice producing companies in Italy “The future of our industry is the garments that will solve customers’ problems,” she continued “If you think of basically what’s happening in the world and all those amazing companies like Uber Amazon and many others … it’s because those platforms’ algorithms are solving people’s problems everyday "Some of the scientists and engineers we work with at FTL have been hidden away in these venerable institutes and specialist laboratories for decades so their innovations were available exclusively for the defence and space industries -- until now." eco-fashion activist and founder of EcoAge on its advisory board It has access to a pipeline of more than 1,000 technologies that include wearable electronics materials science innovations and high-performance fibres and fabrics around 50 of which it currently plans to invest in split between five countries including Russia a fashion technologist with more than 12 years experience in wearable technology “FTL Ventures will fill a void in the current landscape of fashion technology funding and product development,” Parkes told BoF “Our focus will be on enabling technologies for the future of fashion… There are so many amazing scientific advances being developed in labs and small companies across the globe that can have a transformative effect across all parts of the fashion chain “We are convinced that technology does not have to be at odds with sustainability quite the opposite — science should be seen as a tool and resource to help transform fashion into a truly 21st century industry,” she added where she met with executives at tech companies including Google to soak up the lessons from its tech sector to apply them to her own portfolio of businesses One of Duma's 2016 projects was the Buro Tech Forward Initiative (BTFI) which is a partnership between the Russian edition of Buro 24/7 Russia's Internet Initiatives Development Fund and the Skolkovo Innovation Centre The initiative supports young tech and innovation specialists to secure investment and realise their digital initiatives in Russia the newly launched FTL has a global remit and is a completely independent venture of Duma’s  The agency division of FTL is aimed at helping companies in the global fashion industry like LVMH and Kering to connect with engineers and scientists developing cutting-edge technologies and to integrate these new innovations into the product offer “The most important thing for us is to actually get in and make the industry embrace and collaborate with people in that world Our main goal is to try and bring those innovations out of laboratories and into to market,” said Duma who just spoke at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit on investing in sustainable growth FTL’s launch was welcomed by Carole Collet professor at Central St Martins (CSM) and newly appointed director to lead the CSM LVMH Sustainable Innovation programme announced earlier this month “There are a number of great recent and new initiatives in this field and I am glad to see that we are finally gaining a global momentum to transition towards a more sustainable and smart economy,” Collet told BoF “Creating and financing opportunities to interface emerging technologies with entrepreneurship and fashion design can be a catalyst for sustainable innovation but only if sustainability is at the core of the business ambition; it cannot be added as a plug in [ Miroslava Duma: Don't Call Her a CzarinaOpens in new window ] [ Amanda Parkes on Why Wearable Tech is About More Than GadgetsOpens in new window ] [ Will Lab-Grown Stones Save or Sink the Troubled Diamond Market?Opens in new window ] For more information read our Terms & Conditions managing partner at the LVMH-affiliated private equity fund talks about the ingredients of winning companies the dynamics challenging fashion's incumbents and how economic shifts are shaping investor strategies in the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025 The fast fashion giant is reportedly close to filing to go public in London but faces doubts about its business and the political environment the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities 14 current and former employees said things only got worse deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry The essential daily round-up of fashion news A post shared by EFK (@mr.edkavishe) on Jan 23 As these things tend to go, this was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of inexcusable behavior. Sergeenko quickly posed an apology on her personal Instagram that read more like an explanation than a mea culpa “Kanye West is one of my most favourite musicians and NP is one of my most favourite songs,” she wrote we call each other the N word sometimes when we want to believe that we are just as cool as they guys who sing it.” Finally, Sergeenko told Garage that she was “so upset” that she had “spoiled” her Paris couture week presentation, which street-style photographer Phil Oh noted on Twitter was “real quiet” this season As for Duma, she issued a brief apology herself on Instagram before being swiftly removed from the board of Tots the children’s company she co-founded with Nasiba Adilova in 2015 View this post on Instagram Racism and bigotry is never cool. 😢 I guess I’m too weird... btw I just saw this today on Twitter. So I’m also as shocked as you guys are!!!! A post shared by Bryanboy (@bryanboycom) on Jan 23 Yesterday, video footage from 2012 of Duma making homophobic and transphobic comments also came to the industry’s attention. When an audience member asks Duma what she thinks about Bryanboy wearing women’s clothing and models like Andreja Pejić advertising women’s swimsuits a little boy could see it and that boy wouldn’t understand it correctly I think a certain kind of censorship and refined culture is needed here.” she will be releasing a personal statement on social media The Cut has also reached out to Bryanboy for comment; in the meantime he shared the video of Duma on his personal Instagram saying that he was “as shocked” as everyone else On Wednesday, Duma wrote another apology — this time much lengthier she said she was “deeply ashamed” by the comments she made in 2012 She then went on to explain that “the person I was six years ago is not who I am today.” She concludes with the hope that “public discussions surrounding me might shine a light on the broader need to stamp out discrimination from society once and for all.” If Duma is right about one thing, it’s that the past few days have served as (yet another) poignant reminder that discrimination in the fashion industry is neither an isolated issue, nor a new one. Stylist Shiona Turini reinforced this point on Twitter: “As we approach [Fashion Week] remember your fave street style stars opt to use language like ‘n*ggas’ and thinks it’s a joke.” A post shared by Miroslava Duma (@miraduma) on Jan 24, 2018 at 9:57am PST the fashion world's Grace Kelly (and every petite girl's fashion hero) The former Harper's Bazaar Russia editor and founder of the digital magazine Buro 24/7 has become a hotly anticipated fixture on the street-style scene Who's that young designer she's having lunch with?*And of course—*what's the latest amazing handbag that she's added to her prolific accessories collection?*Her fashion influence is global the style star constantly proves there's nothing "too big" for her to wear Here are her 30 best outfits ever (and trust us when we say it was veryhard to choose) making it ideal for a casual outfit to take you from summer to fall her pleated leather midi look is great for the office and after-work plans The strapless top looks fresh again with high-waisted trousers A cherry-red Kelly bag adds extra polish to the look plus retro Mary Jane flats that go with everything she finishes the look with an oversize pendant which is ideal for wearing indoors and out for a day of shopping or such Sweater, skirt, and bag, Louis Vuitton; sunglasses, Ray-Ban Duma certainly makes a case for statement outerwear with this psychedelic print Duma slips into a casual pair of lowtop sneakers for the daytime body-conscious black dress and heeled sandals but it's also a really easy work look to pull off The best part: you can wear the pieces separately to maximize your outfit options the most defining pieces in your wardrobe aren't basic at all Case in point: Duma's optic print trench is totally unique but the classic silhouette makes it so wearable we love her modern take on the traditional pantsuit Duma inspires us to drop the basic black or brown jacket on the rack and go for a bold color This cherry-red suede coat is the star of any outfit and it's also timeless Duma's belted coat adds curves and cinches her waist this coatdress may not cover enough to forgo pants or a top for daytime but it looks fabulous with shredded jeans and a white T-shirt by styling it with a classic white T-shirt rather than a silk blouse I think a certain kind of censorship and refined culture is needed here.” Unfortunately According to the subtitles on the Russian video those are exactly the words that came from Miroslava on the subject She goes on to refer to the models as “this weird boy named Bryanboy” and “this weird person calling himself Andre Pejic,” adding as our jaws near closer and closer to the floor we’re very concerned about the beauty and purity of the things we publish,” stating that she would never include trans women or gender-fluid men such as the ones she already mentioned she even finds time to slam Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton for their own images This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from Miroslava has taken to Instagram for the second time in a single day writing an apology for her words and actions “I’m as shocked as anyone to be viewing that footage today and to see for my own eyes how utterly offensive and hurtful my actions were back then,” adding “The world is evolving at an extraordinary pace […] the person I was six years ago is not who I am today.” She finishes off by offering her apology to all those she has offended nor forgiveness at all.” You can read her full response below This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from It doesn’t seem to matter much whether the video was taken six years ago Especially when you consider the Instagram that started it all It’s horrifying to think that such closed-minded views toward anyone who steps out of the lines of what Miroslava considers “conventional” can be thought with such hate Though Bryanboy has made a comment about the Miroslava Duma video that he so widely shared with the world Andreja has yet to make a statement on the issue Two women who were taking a selfie at an airstrip in Chihuahua highlands died accidentally; a pilot who flew o the Tarahumara highlands and a retired martial arts teacher were murdered in 2017 a mysterious man was shot to death in the north of the country All of these deaths were connected to the murder of journalist Miroslava Breach which took place on March 23 2017 in Chihuahua Bellingcat and the Centro Latinoamericano de Investigaciones Periodísticas (CLIP) to investigate the truths of these five deaths linked to the journalist’s murder This report highlights why investigating these deaths would have shed light on the murder of the respected La Jornada reporter five other deaths have been linked to her case the Chihuahua state authorities have not investigated these fully He is also the heir of the criminal group known as Los Salazar which Miroslava had exposed in her journalistic work The Chihuhua state Prosecutor’s office and the federal agency that specializes in crimes against journalists have had Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa (a.k.a. El Larry) in detention since December 2017 accused of working for Los Salazar in Chínipas Raised at Ochoa’s home was Jaciel Vega Villa who is under the protection of Chínipas’ most powerful family It is alleged that they were travelling in the airplane that killed the two young women accuse them of being behind Miroslava’s murder The third suspect, according to the official version of the story, was a hitman named Ramón Andrés Zabala Corral, who appeared in the highlands of Sonora that same December, dead from a gunshot to the chest No one has been detained so far in relation to these five deaths connected to Miroslava’s murder Neither the state’s prosecutor’s office nor the Specialized Division on Crimes Against the Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) at the Federal Prosecutor General of the Republic which took over the case one year after Breach’s death and continued the investigation seem to have put enough effort into clarifying these deaths even though they could provide leads about those responsible for the murder of a prominent journalist who denounced links between drug trafficking and politics comprising a group of Mexican and foreign journalists and accompanied by several international journalism organizations investigated these deaths and has tried to find responses to the questions that those in charge of the case left unanswered Nitzia Mendoza and Yoselin Morquecho died after they were struck by an airplane that was landing in Chínipas The authorities, who have identified them as very violent accuse them of murdering several social activists and being responsible for the disappearance of a journalist in Sonora migrant trafficking and other violent episodes in Sonora and Chihuahua two days after Miroslava was murdered in Chihuahua Alfredo celebrated his birthday as he had in previous years: with a horse race on the Chínipas airstrip There was also going to be a dance that night folk singers arrive in Chínipas to celebrate the birthday of Alfredo Salazar Ramírez who has been imprisoned at El Altiplano since 2012 18-year-old Nitzia Mendoza and her friend Yoselín Morquecho were watching the race from the back of a pickup truck that was parked beside the airstrip an airplane struck them on the head and killed them instantly So outlandish was the accident that the world soon came to know it: “A selfie cost them their lives!” some news outlets headlined as if they had been responsible for their own deaths Several outlets reported that the pair had been decapitated by the strike Even though news of the accident involving the two teenagers in Chínipas made international headlines their deaths were not investigated by the state prosecutor’s office nor by federal authorities When local media looked for municipal authorities to inquire about the tragedy, none responded. El Diario called the Chínipas police which denied that the accident had even taken place the local police was under the command of Martín Medina Ramírez whom according to Miroslava’s reporting was a relative of the Salazars and responsible for several crimes The attempt to silence the event was evident This investigative team had access to photographs of the victims’ bodies which show their bloodied clothes and faces at the time of their autopsy The images show that the injuries that caused their deaths were barely two to five centimeters long; small and precise It is difficult to imagine how a landing airplane traveling still at speeds between 80 to 100 kilometers per hour and striking them with a wing or propeller would leave only these small injuries and bruises nor their friends nor the authorities have wanted to comment on the deaths of Nitzia Mendoza and Yoselin Morquecho told this group of journalists that the tragedy occurred because there were three or four airplanes landing that afternoon a hasty or careless pilot landed on the other end of the airstrip where people were congregating “These are parties that criminals put together It’s an airstrip that’s about one kilometer long On the right side is where the races happen cars park; and on the other side they do so as well [and] there’s a road that’s about four or maybe five meters (…) there is a field there were they were landing because there were several planes landing at the time but this airplane landed the opposite way and came in at full speed” said the person who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisal This source said that Yoselin and Nitzia did not see the airplane landing and were thrown to the ground they took them to the clinic and the pilot automatically I think that most of the airplanes that were landing were private” and another would be waiting for people there” On March 27, El Diario de Chihuahua revealed that witnesses to the event were forced to delete any videos that they had recorded at the scene residents of Chínipas said that criminals surrounded the airstrip and forced everyone to delete the images that they had recorded on their cellphones and cameras and also threatened anyone who spoke about what had happened with death [these criminals] even took positions at the roads leading out of Chínipas after the accident that killed the two women in order to search the cellphones of people leaving the area.” A witness who asked to remain anonymous told our team the following: there were people there who were searching all of the cellphones (…) they cleaned everything off the cellphones When they had deleted everything off the cellphones No one left before that.” This same witness told us that in Chínipas “we cannot speak up” because “the criminals are in charge” the British investigative media outlet which assisted with this investigation confirmed that there was an “absence of open source information in the form of images and videos recorded by people at the site” on March 25 in contrast with the several public videos from similar celebrations of previous years Our team obtained different versions about who was on these airplanes One report claims that one of the airplanes was there to pick up a medical patient in serious condition with the last name García to take him to Sonora to be operated for appendicitis Another version claims that two people got off the airplane Yet another version says that one of the passengers of the airplane was a famous narcocorrido singer who was the son of one of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s associates A resident of Chínipas told our team that the airplane was the same “that always brings bands” to the town An intelligence source told our team that one of the passengers who got off the airplane was armed and that the 42nd military regiment in Parral This team filed several freedom of information requests (one of them presented through a freedom of the press organisation) but the national Defense Ministry denied the existence of such a document An individual connected to the State Prosecutor’s office claims that an air taxi pilot suspected of being responsible for the two deaths was asked to provide a statement in relation to the incident and that this pilot said that he had taken off from Hermosillo picking up a person in distress in Chínipas In the week after the event, the State Prosecutor’s office said that it did not have the registration number of the airplane that was involved in the incident The Communication and Transport Secretariat (SCT) claimed that the Chínipas airstrip was illegal The reason for this official silence on the case would become known nine months later On December 25 2017, Chihuahua state governor Javier Corral published the following information in a tweet: “In an operation carried out by the Federal Police as a result of the investigations by the state prosecutor’s office and with the strategic collaboration of the National Intelligence Centre we’ve been able to capture today Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa [aka Larry] the mastermind of the murder of the journalist Miroslava Breach Valducea.” Governor Javier Corral announced El Larry’s capture on December 25 Local media reported that after the murder he fled to Chinipas on the airplane that struck and killed Nitzia Mendoza and Yoselin Morquecho That day, El Diario de Chihuahua published a story that linked the incident to Miroslava’s murder In the article (titled “The airplane that killed the two young women belonged to El Larry) the newspaper claimed that he “was returning to [Chínipas] after supervising the journalist’s murder” “No one wanted to talk about the incident in Chínipas because of how much they fear Los Salazar who control drug trafficking activities in the entire region and who have influence over politics and the police authorities” The testimonies from two individuals taken by the prosecutor’s office also indicate that on March 25 two of the three people linked to Miroslava’s murder traveled to Chínipas This version came to light during the preliminary hearing of Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa (a.k.a who is accused of being the hitmen’s leader and the mastermind behind Miroslava’s killing flying that day from the Chihuahua International Airport to the Sierra region According to the State Prosecutor’s office Moreno Ochoa was accompanied by Wilberth Jaciel Vega Villa who had transported triggerman Zabala on his car to the journalist’s home on the day of the murder There was apparently no space for the hitman on the plane A female police officer who sheltered the men after the murder and whose identity was protected under the codename Rubi claimed that her uncle El Larry and Vega Villa left her house at 8:00 AM on March 25 because “their airplane was ready” Since there was no room aboard the airplane for Zabala he returned to her home to spend one more night A cherry-colored SUV transported them to and from the airport the taxi driver who drove them and who received the moniker so as to protect his identity He claims that it was on March 24 at 7:00 AM that he left El Larry in the airport’s air taxi section and that he heard him speaking to someone on the phone and saying that he was “almost there” a friend of Vega Villa showed prosecutors a picture that he sent to a group chat on March 25 at 2:49 PM in which an airplane is visible in the background Vega Villa appears in the back seat of a vehicle entering a town The testimony of another witness dubbed Estrella read during Moreno Ochoa’s preliminary hearing “On Saturday March 25 [I] realized that Jaciel had arrived in Chínipas aboard an airplane along with his bother and that he had arrived at something like two or three in the afternoon and his cousin also told her that the airplane had struck two girls and that they had died.” A week after El Larry’s arrest, journalist Hector de Mauleón published an op-ed column in El Universal stating that he had been “hiding for several months” in the dorms of the Palmarejo gold and silver mine operated by an American company called Coeur Mining and located 12 kilometers away from Chínipas [El Larry] had at his disposal an institutional network of protection on behalf of the state and municipal police” Several partners of this collective tried to communicate with the mining company’s company offices in Chicago and in México to corroborate the serious accusations but it was not possible to obtain an answer El Universal published an article claiming that El Larry hid in the Palmajero mine The company did not respond to our requests for an interview Our team was able to confirm that Palmarejo has an airstrip that measures approximately 570 meters which is enough to service Cessna aircraft and that the mine’s dorms are located some five kilometers from this airstrip Even though it is important to know how the killers escaped Chihuahua in order to determine what resources and protection they had at their disposal state and federal case files examined as part of this investigation do not contain any evidence that the public accusation involving Coeur Mining was investigated nor that the March flight records of the Roberto Fierro Villalobos International Airport in Chihuahua were properly reviewed for that weekend No private aircraft pilots or personnel that operate at the airport were questioned While the story of the “selfie” deaths spread throughout the world, the SCT did not record the incident among those occurring in 2017 despite its mandate to do so, according to our review of available records When formally asked about the accident (file 0000900095119) the federal entity said: “The General Directorate of Civil Aviation does not have any record or document that suggests that any aviation accident or incident took place” The Communication and Transport Secretariat (SCT) said that it did have a record of the accident even though it made the news across the world given the unusual manner in which the teenagers lost their lives which remains the family’s property to this day Not one of the sources that we consulted differed in this characterisation of Chínipas: that it is a town under the control of drug traffickers that the communications in the town are being monitored and that it is located on the path to the United States and connected to the outside world by the airstrips in the town in the nearby municipality of Temoris and in the mine Members of our team wanted to visit Chínipas to conduct interviews with local authorities relatives of the men accused of Miroslava’s murder individuals named in news reports and with witnesses to the deaths of Nitzia and Yoselin even though they were essential to the investigation Our sources advised us to stay away from the town Another said: “Los Salazar can bring down airplanes You could get into Chínipas by air or land Our collective—via a freedom of expression organisation—requested an interview with state prosecutor César Augusto Peniche and sent a questionnaire asking why no investigators were sent to Chínipas since so many threads in the case led directly to the Sierra region in which the town is located including the allegations that El Larry hid there and that Vega Villa is there now head of the Specialized Division on Crimes Against the Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) at the Federal Prosecutor General’s Office What I can say is that the federal authorities are working in a coordinated fashion in order to execute the arrest warrant and are doing the necessary work related to this case” Media reports named him as the pilot to Los Salazar What made Jorge David Coughanour Buckenhofer endearing was not only the fact that he sometimes used his airplane as an air-ambulance but also that he always responded to distress calls from places where no other pilots dared to land His ability to operate out of small airstrips resulted in his creation of an air taxi company serving the highlands at the age of 30 which he based out of the Chihuahua airport That company is called AeroCoconor and has at its disposal six turboprop aircrafts He got the name for the company from his paternal grandfather a miner and air combat veteran from Idaho who was known as “Mr given the difficulty that many had with pronouncing the Coughanour last name (Jorge David Coughanour founded AeroCoconor, which serviced the Tarahumara highlands. Among his clients were policitians. Source: Facebook Pilotos Sierreros https://de-de.facebook.com/pilotossierrerosG16/videos/piloto-jorge-david-coughanour-municipio-de-uruachi-chihuahua/1371772759546391/) Coughanour began down the path of a commercial pilot at the age of 18 after he came to an agreement with his parents during high school that he would study to become a pilot after graduation Coughanour would become the pilot of a former governor of Sonora state when his family would go to Tucson He also flew the PRI governor Cesar Duarte and then PAN’s Javier Corral when they were on their campaigns A person exited the car and shot Coughanour at least six times The bullets left a hole the size of a fist in the driver’s side window Police Unit 328 agent Michelle Guadalupe Barraza Espinosa was the first to arrive at the crime scene officer Barraza had also taken part in Miroslava’s murder investigation: she was one of the two officers who found the home of the Vega Villa family In the home they found they found evidence incriminating him and his half-brother I stuck my head out the window and yelled for help (…) [and] I lost consciousness” speaking to police from the hospital several days after the pilot’s murder In order to try to find Coughanour’s killer officer Barraza interviewed two witnesses: a neighbour and a restaurant patron She asked for the CCTV footage from the camera located outside the restaurant Officer Barraza and her colleagues closed off the street and took pictures of the crime scene gloved hands are seen holding Coughanour’s identification An ambulance took his injured friend to the hospital A person with close ties to Coughanour whose name we are withholding for security reasons told our team that they received a phone call at 7:00 AM on April 11 There were passengers waiting for Coughanour That was when his family and friends began to desperately search for him A close friend recognized the Mercedes in a newspaper article This friend then went to his parents’ home Despite having identified their son almost twelve hours earlier the authorities did not inform his parents of their son’s death when someone called Coughanour’s friend’s cellphone officer Barraza answered and told the caller that she had been injured and which hospital she had been taken to Coughanour’s cellphone rang repeatedly throughout the morning of April 11 but when the authorities handed it over to his family all the calls and messages from that day had been deleted according to interviews with people close to his family sought a meeting with governor Javier Corral he was granted one with state prosecutor César Augusto Peniche and that his case was very important for the government and that they would carry on with the investigation said Coughanour Miller when we interviewed him in his office Its walls are decorated with pictures of his only son Even though Coughanour flew the current governor during his campaign as two witnesses testified in the case file and several acquaintances and one public official confirmed to us Corral has never admitted this relationship publicly and did not send his condolences to Coughanour’s family Aparicio said that the bullet casings found in both crime scenes coincided A report (part of case file 19-2017-000981) compiled before this press conference as part of the Coughanour murder investigation contradicts this assertion Dated April 11 2017—just one day after the murder—a state forensic ballistic expert wrote in the report: “Today we have verified that the ballistic fingerprint 0807001002682017 in the IBIS system and as of this moment it has not provided any matches with any of the elements located in the database” The bullets that killed Coughanour did not match those that killed Miroslava A source with access to the case file told our team that investigation conducted on the bullet casings were in fact of the same calibre but that they had not been fired from the same weapon The state prosecutor’s office never corrected the record on this The state prosecutor also did not respond to an interview requested by a freedom of expression organisation for this project Coughanour went to the state prosecutor’s office to demand that they take his statement No one had sought him or the victim’s aviation colleagues Sources close to the investigation said that not every statement and piece of evidence given to the prosecutors made it formally into the investigation one gets the impression that the prosecutors were more interested in investigating the victim than finding his killers asked for the victim’s tax filings to the Tax Management System (TMS) and his cellphone data and requested the receipt for the Mercedes Benz that he had bought weeks earlier Neither of the two interviews conducted in the minutes after the murder fill two pages there is a note from the state prosecutor’s office that contains instructions to find out more information about the pilot’s personal life and whether he may have been pressured to transport drugs The last page of the case file at the Chihuhaua state prosecutor’s office is a photocopy of flight logs from AeroTepeyac Chauisori in the Ocampo municipality of Chihuahua state (CHR) and the Tachari airstrip in the Arivechi municipality of Sonora state (TAR) Even so, on December 25, 2017—the same day that governor Corral announced the capture of El Larry—El Heraldo de Chihuahua published an article on its website (and in print the next day) which falsely claimed that Coughanour was the pilot who had helped Miroslava’s killers escape “A pilot named Jorge David Coughanour Buckenhofer was murdered on April 10 while leaving a restaurant (…) he was the one who was piloting the airplane that carried to Chínipas Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa after the murder of Miroslava Breach Valducea and while landing it struck and killed two young women.” The rest of the article claims that Coughanour was “a trusted pilot of Los Salazar” that he flew them around the highlands along the border between Chihuahua and Sonora rather than the simple transport of passengers Two weeks after the publication of that article, on January 5 2018, El Heraldo de Chihuahua published an open letter from Mr Coughanour titled “Refuting the slander against the murdered AeroCoconor pilot” which was “an open letter [from] the pilot’s father refuting statements from the state prosecutor’s office” “I categorically deny what was written by Mr I have deep respect for the freedom of the press and of expression but no one has the right to write or publish slander that attacks the reputation of a person This article also claims that my son Jorge was the pilot who landed in Chínipas on March 25 and that he was involved in the fatal accident that claimed the lives of two young women Jorge was not there during that unfortunate event and neither was any pilot working for AeroCoconor Both my son and his pilots were in the city of Chihuahua This was proven to the state prosecutor’s office already.” El Heraldo attributed the information published by journalist David Varela to the state prosecutor’s office One of Miroslava’s relatives told our team that state prosecutor Peniche himself was the one who told the Breach family that the murdered pilot worked for El Larry Neither in public nor in private has the state prosecutor’s office corrected the record on this issue even though company records available since April 2017 show that Coughanour did not fly to Chínipas on the day of the accident Witnesses stressed that they saw him in Chihuahua that day and cellphone records show that his telephone was active in the city throughout the day in the December 27 2017 hearing following El Larry’s capture the Public Ministry read testimony from protected witnesses who claimed that following Miroslava’s murder El Larry had said that he was “about to fly on the bird” and that he asked to be taken to an air taxi hangar This collective established that one of the numbers that fugitive Jaciel Vega Villa dialed was AeroCoconor’s Flight logs included in Miroslava’s and Coughanour’s case files show that the murdered pilot’s company did not fly during those days to either Chínipas or the Palmarejo airstrip The flight logs for the Chihuahua airport obtained for this investigation show that three pilots fly periodically to the Palmarejo airstrip (PJO) two companies flew planes from Chihuahua to Chínipas it was not possible to ascertain which airplanes flew to Alfredo Salazar’s birthday party because that data is considered by the government to be private information rejected a request for similar information using the same argument Alfredo Salazar Ramírez is the son of Adán Salazar Ramírez He was accused of the murder of an activist named Nepomuceno Moreno In a story published on August 6, 2016, Miroslava Breach accused José Crispín Salazar’s people of the murder and displacement of some 300 families in the town of Las Chinacas in 2015 as a result of territorial disputes Miroslava’s work brought an end to the candidacy to the municipal government of Juan Salazar Ochoa a candidate for the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) party who is a nephew of Los Salazar had been the mayor of the Morelos municipality as candidate for mayor of Chínipas last year Ramos Salmón is currently the town’s mayor The story in El Heraldo incriminating Coughanour and containing information leaked from the state prosecutor’s office was accompanied by another written by the same journalist titled “Miroslava’s murder was a birthday present to the Los Salazar boss” This theory—that Moreno Ochoa acted out of his own initiative without permission from his boss as governor Corral also suggested when describing him as “the mastermind” of Miroslava’s killing—eliminates the possibility that there might have been other persons involved The reporter who wrote that story and the fake information involving Coughanour with the murderers’ flight to Chínipas is no longer a journalist He is now a Chihuahua state police officer Gabriel Ochoa Cárdenas was murdered on April 17 said that the crime was committed with the same weapon with which Miroslava was murdered The next day, Gabriel Ochoa Cárdenas, a retired martial arts teacher and psychologist known by his neighbours as El Profe, was shot to death in front of his chicken coop in the Junta de los Rios neighbourhood of Chihuahua In his hand the police found a peculiar Colt calibre .38 super It was a special edition pistol that had engraved on one side of its barrel Emiliano Zapata and an Aztec serpent and on the other a phrase from the Mexican revolutionary: “It is better to die standing than to live on your knees” Beside the body was a cardboard sign that read: Beside Gabriel Ochoa’s body there was a cardboard sign that blamed him for Miroslava’s murder The Chihuahua authorities have yet to solve his murder “This is the pig that killed Miroslava the journalist by order of El 80 alongside Pablo Ernesto Rocha This is the evidence that we don’t like it when pigs commit injustices.” El 80 is the moniker given to Arturo Quintana, who in March 2017 was the leader of a group called La Linea that rivaled Los Salazar in the northeast of Chihuahua state and worked for the Juarez Cartel. Rocha had been a director of the state police and has been implicated in several abuses and other scandals Chihuahua media outlets were quick to report on the news and said that Gabriel Ochoa Cárdenas bore resemblance to a police portrait of the man who had killed Miroslava. El Diario, for example, published the drawing of the killer for the first time beside a picture of Ochoa Cárdenas which should only have been in the possession of the police or the state prosecutor’s office Even though the intention was to highlight the similarities between the two men and the former martial arts instructor had already turned 56 El Diario wrote that Ochoa Cárdenas walked with a limp as did Miroslava’s killer and speculated that he had grown the mustache over the course of a month because the man in the police portrait did not have one Local media shared what was supposed to be an image showing similarities between Breach’s killer and Ochoa Cárdenas even though the two differed in age by 30 years that El Profe was a hermit who spoke little he had taught karate and had police officers among his students A local resident said that “he wrote all of his students’ names in a notebook” The owner of a local store said that whenever she feared that she was about to be robbed she called for El Profe so that he would come and scare away the troublemakers He lived off what his brother sent him and looked after chickens that he kept in a small plot across the street from his home A former karate student who asked to not be identified was likely the third person to arrive on the scene after hearing the shooting What he saw did not coincide with the images that they later saw in the news “I saw a pistol [beside his body] and that was the first thing that caught my attention because he did not use weapons,” the witness in an interview one year later “I heard [the police] talking about the pistol being one colour but when the pictures came out in the newspaper it was another colour I don’t know when they switched the pistol,” he added For someone who did not know much about weapons Gabriel Ochoa’s killers left beside his body a collector’s weapon The testimonies of the individuals who found his body do not appear to make reference to the impressive pistol he has not been charged in Miroslava’s killing Andrés Zabala Corral was accused of murdering Miroslava Breach 2017 of working for his drug-trafficking relatives was the chief of police until January 2018 The investigation into the murder of Zabala Corral did not yield results His body was found in ditch in the Álamos municipality in Sonora state A hand-written police report dated December 20, 2017 notes that a man between the ages of 25 and 30 was found dead of a bullet that entered through his back and exited his chest in a desolate road some three kilometers in El Zapote in the Álamos municipality of Sonora state What really distinguished him were his tattoos: one was a skull and another were the names of his two sons This is how he was identified as Ramón Andrés Zabala Corral the man whom the Chihuahua state prosecutors claim shot Miroslava eight times the same that was captured by security cameras limping That white object was the sign that was left near Miroslava’s body His body was found in the Navojoa city of Sonora According to de Mauleon’s El Universal article the federal police knew that Zabala was speaking on the phone with a romantic interest during the nine months in which he was on the run and that he narrowly escaped capture once after being tipped off The man seen in CCTV footage shooting Miroslava limps individuals interviewed by the state prosecutor’s office were never asked whether Zabala limped No image clearly captured the face of the man who killed Miroslava but there is a police portrait drawn following the testimony of an anonymous witness to the state prosecutor’s office This anonymous witness—who lived in Miroslava’s neighbourhood—stated in a second interview in August 21 2018 to the Federal Prosecutor General’s special office that he had not seen the killer’s face but only his profile This witness also said that the Public Ministry that had asked her to identify someone they told her was named Ramón “I told them once more that I did not know who the persons in the photos they were showing me were the person we are looking for is named Ramón and lives in a small ranch in Sonora It’s him we’re investigating; he no longer lives in Chihuahua’ And that’s when I asked him: so I highlight his picture And I made a mark on top of his photo,” the witness said This declaration can be found in case file number FED/SDHPDSC/UNAI-CHIH/0000214/2017 There are no images available that allow recognition beyond doubt of Miroslava’s killer Zabala was linked to the crime because according to the case file his cell phone number appears on the log of calls made by Jaciel Vega Villa from the crime scene and because his phone number preceded by area code 642 of southern Sonora This collective could not verify this information on his social media account the state prosecutor’s office extracted photographs then shown to witnesses who later identified him the police officer who sheltered the killers following Miroslava’s murder This team identified three Facebook profiles matching Zabala In the photos of the account named Andrés Vega often with his father and other times with a younger brother One of his last messages is a cardboard sign glorifying the work of hitmen He sometimes “Liked” pictures from some of his sons Miroslava’s murder case file does not have clear information on where Zabala stayed said that both her uncle and the armed stranger with a Sonora accent accompanying him (and whom she recognized in photos) slept in her house from March 23 to Sunday March 26 when he was taken to the airport by a cherry-colored SUV the driver protected under the moniker Cholugo said that on the morning of March 23 he took Zabala along with El Larry to the Marrod Hotel located in the outskirts of the city of Chihuahua and that he spent four hours with them in room 120 said that they remembered the man in the photograph and that he was the mysterious man who never left room 205 between March 26 and 28 They said they only saw him when he smoked that he did not allow his room to be cleaned and that he was always wearing clothes identical to those seen on the CCTV footage of Miroslava’s killer It is not known how or when he fled to the Sierra nor what he did during the nine months he remained a fugitive before being found dead in Álamos relatives told the state prosecutor’s office that the deceased had been a mysterious and silent man did not liked to be asked about his job and once asked them not to pay attention to town gossip saying he was “following the wrong footsteps” A woman he lived with spoke about his long absences his preference for communication via messages or phone calls and his constant changes of cellphone numbers on account of losing them Nearly a month and a half after Zabala’s murder our team asked the prosecutor for the central zone why they had not captured him if they already knew of his whereabouts in April when governor Corral announced that they had identified all of the people involved in Miroslava’s murder The prosecutor replied: “We decided to not ask [Sonora] for help because those people [Los Salazar] have been there for many years and things wouldn’t be safe (…) That was a strategic decision There is no documentary evidence suggesting that this request for Zabala’s DNA was ever carried out The investigations into these five deaths inexplicably show no advances despite the fact that they could illuminate key aspects of the crime against a courageous journalist whose work in the last months of her life focused on documenting and denouncing the displacements and the abuses suffered by the people of the Sierra She placed special emphasis on the expansion of Los Salazar in Chínipas and the tight and long connection that the family had with the politics of Sonora and Chihuahua Miroslava told those who threatened her that she would not remain silent Miroslava Dzida of Gleann an Ghairdin, Gorey, and late of Slovakia passed away at Gorey District Hospital surrounded by her loving family on Saturday, August 10. Miroslava was the beloved wife of Jacek, daughter of Emilia and Peter and mother of Amelia and Daniel. At Miroslava’s funeral at St. Michael's Church Gorey on Wednesday, August 14, she was described as a kind, loving and courageous person who adored her family. Her young children Amelia and Daniel and her husband Jacek presented the symbols of her life. A few words about Miroslava were read on her family’s behalf. It was said that although, Miroslava was battling an illness for the last 10 years, she always had a positive approach to life and looked on the bright side. Moreover, she was a fantastic baker and cook, she enjoyed watching Slovakian ice-hocking on TV and France was her favourite place to visit. She will be sadly missed by her husband, father, mother, son, daughter, extended family and all her friends in Gorey. New RossPlanning sought for new GP surgery and four-bed apartment in Duncannon A planning application has been submitted to Wexford County Council to change the use of a house to a GP surgery in Duncannon, Co. Wexford. "I suddenly stopped running the marathon and realized how much I love life," Duma wrote on Instagram Sunday This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Duma is named as “a contact of Ivanka Trump’s from the fashion industry” who “first passed along invitations for Ivanka Trump and candidate Trump” to the 2016 St The invites are said to have been relayed through Duma in late December 2015 though the candidate appears to have sent a formal note declining the invite to Russia’s deputy prime minister According to Wang’s reporting, done in collaboration with Valerie Stivers, Duma was also the target of a so-called “Black PR” smear campaign in 2018 when an unidentified source began circulating damaging reports to members of the fashion press and influencers. Some chalked it up to trouble in the homeland; “These women are also vulnerable to a particular kind of homegrown criticism of being ‘too Western’ or ‘not Russian enough,’ ” the reporters explained in their piece. Read today’s dose of chic intel right here… Associate editor at Daily Front Row. 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All Right Reserved. and with it came a note that referenced the 2011 Kanye West and Jay-Z song she claimed that she had such a personal proximity to people of color that she can't possibly be racist (her daughter is half Armenian!) she loves Kanye West so much that she and her friends "call each other the N word sometimes when we want to believe that we are just as cool as these guys who sing it," and that she was unaware of the historical weight the epithet holds (she didn't see how using it was wrong) she couldn’t take responsibility for her actions She only said sorry to the people she offended This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from (Glamour has reached out to Sergeenko for comment on the incident and will update the story if we hear back.) This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from We’ve seen designers crave the ability to use black culture and black ideas to sell their garments but still want to uphold pillars of white supremacy which fundamentally exploits the industry has repeatedly proved it has a blind spot as far as race Designers will pull from cultural pillars that aren't theirs or engage with them in a way that's meaningful; that having beauty teams backstage not knowing what to do with their hair and other instances of casual racism they’ve encountered throughout their careers (Campbell and Smalls both expressed disappointment at Duma and Sergeenko in their Instagram Stories the Russian designer became a couture client and eventually launched her own couture brand DesignersDesigner, street-style star and one of the faces of Russia’s fashion revolution, Ulyana Sergeenko’s place on the fashion scene is impossible to ignore. Sergeenko  is represented by elite fashion publicist Karla Otto and has a team of 65 in Russia, where the collection is designed and produced. Alongside her creative endeavours, the designer also part-takes in cultural exchange projects between Qatar and Russia such as the Love Ball Arabia charity event.  In 2018, Sergeenko briefly came under media fire for a bouquet of flowers sent to fashion and lifestyle digital magazine CEO and long-time friend, Miroslava Duma , with a handwritten note quoting a suggestively racist song lyric. Sergeenko issued an apology via Instagram following the incident. Hammer-and-sickle logo tees and military epaulettes mingled awkwardly with the designer’s ladylike wares. Armed with a growing digital media empire, Miroslava Duma is on a mission to ensure her country earns a place at the forefront of fashion, media and technology. Brands are working harder than ever to forge personal relationships with top-spending clients, often earning higher margins along the way. This season, fewer than half the couturiers showing in Paris are French. BoF investigates how haute couture has gone global and the opportunities for fledgling brands. How well have you read your BoF this week? Test your knowledge of all of the latest news and analysis from around the world of fashion in our Pop Quiz, which covers Lucky Blue Smith, Prada, Tory Burch and more. How well have you read your BoF this week? Test your knowledge of all of the latest news and analysis from around the world of fashion in our Pop Quiz, which covers Italian fashion, digital and physical retail, and more. More DesignersKim JonesFormer Artistic Director, Dior Men Artistic Director, Alyx; Former Creative Director, Givenchy The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world. Print Reporting from Mexico City — Mexican journalist Miroslava Breach spent her final days documenting murders She reported on the six people killed in a single night in her home state of Chihuahua and on the assassination of a well-known environment activist there She wrote about the discovery of clandestine graves about several police officers killed in an ambush and about the bodies of three brothers that turned up Breach became a victim of the growing violence in Mexico that she chronicled so thoroughly The 54-year-old mother of three was killed as she left her home in the capital city of Chihuahua — the third journalist slain in Mexico this month Breach was shot several times as she pulled her car out of her garage in the early morning One of her children who was with her at the time was unhurt A sign left at the crime scene said “tattletale,” according to La Jornada the large national newspaper where Breach worked as a correspondent for 15 years She also worked for several local newspapers and was reportedly starting her own news organization Authorities have not arrested any suspects in the case but said Thursday that Breach was likely killed because of her journalism which cast a critical light not only on Mexico’s criminal groups but also the failings of its government “Miroslava denounced organized crime and also acts of corruption in the state Chihuahua and that work is now our main line of investigation,” said Chihuahua’s governor he called her “courageous,” praised her “acute criticism” of society and the political class and said the state would honor her with three days of mourning On Thursday local journalists protested at Chihuahua’s state congress raising homemade signs that said: “Enough already.” According to local media reports the microphone inside the chamber where the lawmakers meet was turned over to journalists who demanded lawmakers do more to protect them According to a report released last year by the International Federation of Journalists Mexico is the third deadliest country for journalists in the world Only Iraq and the Philippines saw more journalists killed during that time columnist Ricardo Monlui was shot twice as he left a restaurant with his wife and son in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz a freelancer and the founder of La Voz de Tierra Caliente was shot and killed at a car wash in Guerrero state Their deaths are a part an alarming rise in homicides across Mexico There were 4,254 murder victims in Mexico in the first two months of this year more than at the beginning of any year since the government began releasing murder statistics More than a decade after Mexico launched a crusade against drug cartels — sending soldiers into local communities to battle gangs — a drug war still rages, and the murder rate is once again rising rapidly “This wave of violence threatens citizens’ right to access vital information and harms Mexico’s democracy by limiting public debate.” “May this and other crimes against journalists not remain in impunity to the detriment of freedom of the press,” she said kate.linthicum@latimes.com Twitter: @katelinthicum Cecilia Sanchez in the Times’ Mexico City bureau contributed to this report He defended the sacred lands of Mexico’s Tarahumara people. Then a gunman cut him down London assailant had been investigated for terrorism; Utah man among victims A mother who dug in a Mexican mass grave to find the ‘disappeared’ finally learns her son’s fate Kate Linthicum is a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times based in Mexico City. World & Nation Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Court says pointed line of questioning over witness qualifications of Miroslava Milenović, a forensic accountant, cannot be pursued in hearing challenging VGH freezing orders Vitals inquiry expert Miroslava Milenović faces heated scrutiny over qualifications and methods for her role in uncovering complex financial links While it was Bryanboy who initially made a statement about the video and sentiments included Andreja has now issued a statement of her own writing words that are more powerful than Miroslava’s cutting ones could ever be Instead of ranting about the bigoted viewpoints of Miroslava However instead of focusing on this blatant ignorance the year of this video.” She goes on to proudly say “Today we are part of a movement of unique talent that is smashing the old categories that once stood and proudly displaying a spectrum of age/color/gender/class.” Andreja closes by adding “Evolution is no stranger to our cause and one day we’ll see revolution.” This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from The events that transpired over this past week between Miroslava and Ulyana have inspired an outpouring of support for people attacked by their statement and ignited a fire in many to take an active stance against bigotry Here’s to the revolution Andreja calls for Related: Miroslava Duma Went on a Transphobic Rant, and This Famous Blogger Is Calling Her Out for It Miroslava Duma took to Instagram today to announce her departure from Buro 24/7 “Having stepped away from Buro 24/7 operational activity over a year ago this final stage with the sale of my stake was a strategic plan and now feels like a natural step forward,” Duma wrote in the post “I am confident that I leave the company in the most capable hands of my partners and the global Buro 24/7 team “This exit will allow me to focus on the development of Future Tech Lab and other yet unannounced personal projects as well as making more time to spend with my young family “Buro 24/7 has been an amazing journey and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together I wish the Buro24/7 team every success.” A post shared by Miroslava Duma (@miraduma) on Mar 23 According to WWD Buro 24/7 suffered a loss of ad revenue in recent months as a result of offensive she posted a picture of flowers sent to her by her friend Ulyana Sergeenko with a card that read “To my Ni**as in Paris.” Condemnation of Duma and Sergeenko on social media was nearly instantaneous and relentless with many in the industry hypothesizing that the controversy would mean the end of both their careers document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "a8a92fa8b78ab086478a3009f0fb56f0" );document.getElementById("d628b68082").setAttribute( "id" and website in this browser for the next time I comment GET OUR HAUTEST STORIES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX