Playa del Carmen shooting 'quite unusual,' says exiled Mexican journalist

He's seen hundreds of dead bodies, had a gun pointed at his head,and even found himself on a drug cartel hit list but a Mexican journalist, who fled to Toronto, says the shooting that happened in Playa del Carmen on Monday morning is "quite unusual."

"Places like Cancun and Playa delCarmenhave been until now pretty much isolated from drug-related violence in Mexico," saysLuisNjera, former journalist for the Mexico City-based Reforma newspaper.

"The government relies a lot on tourism. They've tried since the war on drugs in 2006 to isolate the tourist areas from violence, but they are not isolated from the drug trade."

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Njera, 46, was a senior reporter covering the country's war on drugs in the early2000sinCiudadJuarezonce dubbed the most violent city in the world.

Hit list with his name on it

Njera'sreporting on the drug trade, corruption and organized crime made him a target for some people in government and cartels, he says.

The rumours on the street said there was a hit list with journalistsand my name was on that hit list.- Luis Njera

"The threats came in stages, when you're living and working there, you're used to working with these issues," Njerasays, adding he had a gun pointed at his head at least five times.

And his sources told him that he could be targeted.

"The rumours on the street said there was a hit list with journalists and my name was on that hit list."

But it wasn't until someone followed Njera'swife homethat he decided he needed to leave.

He came to Canada with his wife and three young children after the threats became too much. He arrived in 2008, first moving to Vancouver and later to Toronto.

Situation will likely get worse

Njerasays he worries the situation in Mexico will only get worse, because of increasing media censorship, fear and complacency.

Social acceptance of violence is affecting the community.- Luis Njera

"Social acceptance of violence is affecting the community," he said.

"You have these orphans that lost one, or maybe both parents because of the war on drugs. They're teenagers now and there's no mental health programs to support these youth."

And as Monday's shooting in Playa delCarmen underscores, violence in Mexico persists, even in tourist regions.

"The government may say it's over [but] it's not over," he says."That's my pessimistic, or realistic side."

'I really miss my job'

Despite being very thankful to be alive today, Njerasays he does miss one thing about his days in Mexico: his work.

"I really miss my job as a journalist," he says. "But because there are a lot of things happening in Mexico right now, that few people know about and I do I know I can't go back."

Njerastill writes today, and was recently appointed PEN writer-in-residence at George Brown College.

Journalist Luis Njera on Mexico shooting

8 years ago

Duration 3:21

Mexican journalist Luis Njera says the shooting that happened in Playa del Carmen is "quite unusual."