MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Four journalists have been injured when masked protesters attacked them after smashing windows during a march through Mexico City.
The protesters had joined a larger march Tuesday honoring students killed in government repression of a 1971 demonstration.
The youths broke windows at bus stops, stores and the ruling party headquarters Tuesday before turning on journalists, apparently angry they were being photographed.
A freelance photographer on assignment for the Associated Press, Marco Ugarte, suffered fractured facial bones.
The press freedom group Article 19 identified the others as Paris Martinez of Animal Politico, Luis Castillo of the Reforma newspaper and freelancer Nestor Negrete. None of the injuries was life-threatening.
The Mexico City police department said police kept their distance to avoid provocations and said that “not one single representative of the media was injured.”
A police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be quoted said no policeman was close enough to the scene of the attack to witness it. The official said nobody had been arrested, because no criminal complaint had been filed.
Such black-clad, masked protesters have been known for years to commit violent acts during protests in Mexico City. Though their ideology is unclear, many spray paint anarchist graffiti on walls and windows during the marches.
After being criticized for questionable arrests in some previous demonstrations, Mexico City police have adopted a policy of setting up security perimeters just off the march routes, while allowing the youths to roam through the streets without confronting them.
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