Chronicle of a Death Untold: Journalism and Responsibility at the Border

Abstract: On May 17, 2024, a Honduran migrant with visible facial injuries died in Ciudad Juárez at the edge of the Rio Grande. The case has not been solved. My personal knowledge about the situation of migrants at the Rio Grande and testimony from witnesses indicated that members of the Texas National Guard, under orders from Operation Lone Star, could potentially have been involved. As a journalist, however, my repeated requests to Mexican investigators, the Texas Military Department, and the Texas governor’s office went unanswered, and I could confirm nothing. The information I collected from witnesses was never published. I use this case as a reflexive critique of the journalistic standards of objectivity and neutrality, with my own work under analysis. I argue that, in the face of official efforts to obscure information, especially under the often-difficult circumstances of border reporting, U.S. journalists should use the Latin American crónica as a model for sharing their own knowledge and observations and for raising questions that matter to the rights and interests of the public.