El Diario has had two reporters killed by drug cartels, and those who attack, kidnap and murder journalists act with total impunity. The paper drew worldwide attention with an editorial last year addressing the traffickers and asking them, "what do you want from us?"

"It generated controversy because it said that the traffickers were the de facto authorities in the area," Ms Gallegos says. "Some people saw it as a surrender. But the paper said, it's impossible to fulfill our responsibilities under the circumstances. It's not a surrender, just a white flag, because we don’t want to lose any more journalists and we want to continue our work."

Sixty-four journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000 and there hae been untold cases of aggression, armed threats, vandalism and kidnappings. Over 90 percent of the cases have not been solved and the attackers are still at large.

The problem is so big it is having an impact on business and editorial strategies of Mexican newspapers, Ms Gallegos says. "We have to take into account what journalists on the street  are going through in any discussions on the future of journalism."