She is a journalist, originally from Brussels, and has worked in Mexico since 2008 for various French-speaking media, in particular Radio France. Emmanuelle Steels worked for a long time on the Florence Cassez case, this Frenchwoman released in 2013 after spending seven years in Mexican jails.
A story of corruption, tampering with evidence and bogus testimonies that led Emmanuelle Steels to denounce several high-ranking Mexican personalities, including a man who is now threatening her. “This person makes me understand that he is following me by sending me intimidating messages, insults; she sends another journalist videos of me walking down the street or sitting outside a café. She sends messages around me, letting it be known that she intends to continue to put pressure on me to intimidate me, so that I stop talking about her participation in this judicial machination.“.
“Judicial machination” is indeed the term used by Emmanuelle Steels to describe the Florence Cassez case, a case on which she released a book in 2015 after several years of investigation.
If it is only today that she is threatened for her accusations, it is because her book has finally received little media coverage. However, a Netflix series, released at the end of August, once again shone the spotlight on the Florence Cassez affair. A documentary series in five episodes, Found guilty, which dissects all the gears that led to the questioning of the young woman and which recounts the widespread corruption of justice and Mexican institutions. By testifying several times in this series, Emmanuelle Steels has suddenly been much more visible, for public opinion as for the one she denounces. He is a powerful figure, who still enjoys a high degree of impunity. He is an entrepreneur whohas a lot of influence, he is particularly irritated by the airing of this series, which has put the spotlight back on my work.”
The journalist now benefits from the protection mechanism created by the State ten years ago and which allows the most threatened journalists to have police surveillance at their homes or bodyguards during certain outings. They are nearly 500 across the country to be registered with this device – which can also involve the displacement of a journalist and his family in another city or another region so that he is more sheltered there.
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for press freedom. Emmanuelle Steels says it herself, many journalists are under even greater pressure than what she is experiencing right now. We no longer count the number of assaults, beatings, kidnappings, mock executions… Most often when they denounce the collusion between elected officials and organized crime, the drug cartels. According to the government, 12 journalists have been murdered since the beginning of the year. Because they were just doing their job.
How can everyone be better informed?
Participate in the consultation initiated as part of the European project De facto on the Make.org platform. Franceinfo is the partner