David Beriain, one of the journalists killed in Burkina Faso, made a documentary on the Sinaloa cartel

David Beriain, one of journalists killed in Burkina Faso, worked in 2017 on the documentary Clandestine, whose objective was to reveal how the Sinaloa Cartel, led at the time by Joaquín El Chapo Guzman.

The 44-year-old journalist another Spaniard and an Irish citizen who had been reported missing following an attack by an armed group on Monday in eastern Burkina Faso were killed, as confirmed on Tuesday by two high-level security sources in the African country.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Spanish Government, Arancha González Laya, reported at a press conference that the bodies of the Spaniards were found in the area of ​​the attack on African territory. They have been identified as David Beriain and Roberto Fraile, both journalists making a documentary.

Before being kidnapped, the three Europeans and a Burkinabe citizens, still missing, accompanied by a patrol that fought illegal hunting: this one was attacked on Monday on the road that connects Fada N’Gourma and Pama, located in the east of the country.

Beriain worked as a journalist of war for CNN and founded the production house in Spain 93 meters away, performance-oriented documentaries on controversial issues. It was with her that he was born Clandestine in 2017. The series was published by Discovery Networks.

The journalist was originally from Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre.

To carry out the report, David Beriain plunged for months in the grounds of the criminal organization, where lived with members of the Sinaloa cartel. the access, said 93 meters, is one of the most difficult that the journalist and his team have achieved.

The shooting took place between the arrest of the chief, El Chapo Guzmán and his extradition to the United States. Between hired killers, mules, drug dealers, corrupt cops and chemists.

The production company described it as a “one-off trip” during which Beriain entered the houses where the cartel tortures its enemies, witnessed the alliance between drug traffickers and font elements, and observed how the same route used for drug trafficking in the United States it is used for smuggling firearms into Mexico.

During the filming, which lasted about three months, you can see the cartel fortress of Sinaloa, where they harvest the opium and marijuana fields, The laboratories in Culiacán, and nearby warehouses Tijuana and their final destination, the streets of Angelsreported the producer.

“Make the Sinaloa cartel it was a major challenge»Beriain said. “We entered the cartel at the most complicated moment possible, after the capture of the Chapo Guzmán and in the midst of the proxy war to succeed him. It was a challenge to build trust at a time when they looked at each other with utter suspicion.The reporter reported to 93 Metros.

The three victims and a member of the Burkinabè security forces were reported missing after a attack by unidentified armed persons against a mixed anti-poaching unit patrol in the southeast of Kompienga province.

Local media reported that the attack left three injured and four missing, but it was later confirmed that the two Spaniards and the Irishman were executed by their captors.

The attack, carried out near the town of Pama, capital of the province, also installed with the theft of weapons and equipment by the attackers. Among the equipment, there are two machine guns mounted on a vehicle, a drone, twelve motorcycles and frequency receivers.

Eastern and northern Burkina Faso suffered a increased insecurity in recent years, especially because of peak of attacks by jihadist groups, including the branch of Al-Qaeda in the Sahel, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), which also caused an increase in intercommunal clashes.

Insurgent forces are believed to be holding foreign hostages Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

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