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Two Cancun newspapers bombed; crime gangs suspected


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Cancun (dpa) - The offices of Cancun's two major newspapers - Por Esto and Que Quintana Roo Se Entere - were the intended target of a multiple grenade attack, police officials said Thursday.

But only one person was injured when the explosions occurred outside the buildings, sparing the safety of workers inside.

The Red Cross confirmed that a 20-year-old man was treated for superficial wounds of this throat and was transferred to General Hospital for evaluation.

There were also shootings outside the offices of Por Esto.

Pedro Ramirez Violante, of the public prosecutor's office in Quintana Roo, blamed the attacks on suspected organized crime groups.

He said the attacks should serve as a signal to publishers to reinforce their security.

But he said federal laws would guarantee the "security of the mass media."

"We are going to guarantee the freedom of expression of mass media and we will offer the necessary security for them," he said.

Local media offices posted armed guards around their facilities.

Earlier this year, an attack on a newspaper in Nuevo Laredo on the Texas border critically wounded the police reporter. Thugs wielding military style rifles stormed the newsroom and detonated a hand grenade.

The bloody assault, following a series of similar attacks, prompted 40 Mexican newspapers including the country's largest publishing houses to launch a joint investigation into organized crime.

Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

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