Norma Alicia Moreno Figueroa
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Norma Alicia Moreno Figueroa (June 24, 1962 – July 17, 1986) was a Mexican journalist. She was the first Mexican woman journalist to die violently because of her work covering the Mexican Drug War.


Early life and education

She was born in Matamoros in the Mexican state of
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
, the daughter of Laurentino Moreno and Margarita Figueroa. She studied in her hometown. She was noted as an excellent speaker and participated in local and state contests. In 1974, she won the 1st and 2nd place in contests open to primary school students and in 1978, won the speech contest open to students at her level. She belonged to the "Rodriguez Brayra" literary circle, where she presented multiple works of her poetry. She was permanent member of the House of Fine Arts in Matamoros. She was one of the first students in the Faculty of Communication Sciences at the University of Matamoros and was president of the Society of Students from the 1983-84 graduating class.


Professional life and work

She was a member of the National Action Party, PAN, and actively participating in conferences local, state and national. At the age of sixteen, she joined the newspaper ''El Bravo de Matamoros'', in the section covering social events, from which she gradually was promoted into a position as a reporter and columnist. In what was to be her final position with the Matamoros newspaper, ''El Popular'', she wrote the column "Finding Paths" and also served as managing editor. In addition, she was notorious for her role as a reporter for XEEW, a radio station of Jorge Cardenas Gonzalez that serves the Matamoros and
Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...
, areas. In 1986, her journalistic work received a recognition from
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, heading to the city of
Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...
, Ecuador. Her style courageously exposed corruption of political officials, drug trafficking and she fiercely defended of freedom of expression, public problems entailed her with politicians and especially the continuing threat of organized crime.


Death and aftermath

She died on July 17, 1986, at the age of 24, the victim of an attack by unknown gunmen with automatic weapons at the entrance of the publishing house where she used to work. The day prior to her death, she had written a column in ''El Popular'' that attacked Matamoros Mayor Jesús Roberto Guerra Velasco, a relative of Gulf Cartel founder
Juan Nepomuceno Guerra Juan Nepomuceno Guerra Cárdenas (July 18, 1915 – July 12, 2001) was a Mexican drug lord who founded and led the Gulf Cartel for over 50 years. He is often considered the "godfather" of U.S-Mexico border cartels. He began his criminal caree ...
("MEPI Article"). With her death she became the first woman to lose her life in Mexico as a result of her work as a journalist. After her death, she was recognized by newspapers and international agencies as well as the United States
Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...
.


See also

* Mexican Drug War *
List of journalists killed in Mexico Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists and among the ones with the highest levels of unsolved crimes against the press. Though the exact figures of those killed are often conflicting, press freedom organization ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno Figueroa, Norma Alicia 1962 births 1986 deaths Assassinated Mexican journalists Journalists killed in the Mexican Drug War People from Matamoros, Tamaulipas Mexican women journalists Deaths by firearm in Mexico 20th-century Mexican women writers 20th-century Mexican writers