The Latin American Award for Drug Related Journalism                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          DECISION OF THE JURY

The jury of The Latin American Award for Drug Related Journalism, consisting of Martin Caparros, Andrea Dominguez and Roberto Valencia, evaluated the 27 articles that met all the requirements established in the terms of participation. On Tuesday August 23, 2011, they carried out the selection of the three winning articles and an honorable mention.

FIRST PLACE

Author: Diego Enrique Osomo

Article: Why did they kill the mayor?

Published in: Gatopardo, Mexico

Date: December 10, 2010

Genre: Reportage

Jury Commentary

The  chronicle is true to its´ganre, a good story well told. It presents the degradation of  a place ,  the pristine, pseudo-Texan Monterrey,  a place now plagued by violence. The reader is shown how a particular type of violence, the drug violence, took hold of a part of Mexico. The report conveys the fear, the emotion, and leaves us with many questions raised, which still have no answers. Although the topic of  human rights, is not the main theme of the article, it is present in  the discussion of the  paramilitary in  Nuevo León. Finally, the jury mentioned that the way of editing the article was unusual, since  the  portion which discusses the killing does not appear unitll very late in the article, while in the Gatopardo edition it is anticipated from the begining.

SECOND PLACE

Authors: Thiago Neuenschwander and Wagner Sarmento

Article: Connection Arrecife

Published in: Journal de Comercio, Brasil

Date: January 16, 2011

Genre: Reportage

Jury Commentary

Observed is the general fact  of the increased  cocaine exportaion  in countries that previously did not have this problem. The knowledge of the  drug mules in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, produced the domino effect, which reflects in  the number of drug trafic related arrests. There is a change in the geopolitics of drugs, with  Brazil  now established  as a transit route for cocaine into the European market. The authors show the human drama of the mules without  being apologetic to the crime, as well as illustrate the failure of the fight against drugs and how the crops have spread to other countries. It is a comprehensive report, for which the authors not only toured the prisons and talked with prisoners, but also , looked, found and interviewed the families of the prisoners. The article put a face to those people who are always numbers, statistics, as well as questioned the fact that the mules can not serve their sentences in their countries of origin. Very well written and with respect for the personal stories. The jury suggests that perhaps the only problem is that the cases are slightly disjointed in writing, as a result  of the decision to work with many  instead of a single story.

THIRD PLACE

Author: Juan Ignacio Provendola

Article: The blunt does not  stain

Published: THC Argentina

Date: June 2010

Jury Commentary

Not only did this aritcle show the drama of futbol players whose careers ended due to drug tests, but also illustrates how misguided the drug policy is  and the violation of  the players worker rights.The topic is new, unusual and captivating because it challenges the arbitrary measures taken in the case of smoking marijuana. It is well written and interesting. This is an article which comes from  the “activism” for the legalization of marijuana, having that it was published in  the journal THC. Although there are different positions in the jury, on the topic of  activism around the right of a professional athlete smoking marijuana ,the article is still considere serious, and has novel approach, which can be applied to other discussions in  relation to drug use in employment.

HONORARY MENTION

Author: Yetel Ricanio Noguera

Article: Witneses of smoke, creators of it

Published: Tiempo 21, Cuba

Date: May 21, 2011

Genre: Reportage

Jury Commentary

The work shines when viewed  on the Internet, since it is an article with audio and text. It is a honest work, pure, street, doing a good job of  following  a person suffering from cancer. It gives a reference and an opportunity to emphasize the importance of addressing  not only illegal drugs but also the health impact of legal drugs, such as tobacco. The work has some problems of narrative articulation, but captivates the human emotion and interest.