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Eduardo Verdugo / AP
Armando Montano, 22, poses for an ID photo at the Associated Press office in Mexico City on June 4.
Police in Mexico City are investigating the death of an Associated Press summer intern whose body was found early Saturday in an elevator shaft.
Armando "Mando" Montano, 22, was working as a news intern for the AP in the Mexican capital. His body was found in the elevator shaft of an apartment building near where he was living in the city’s Condesa neighborhood, AP reported.
Montano had been in Mexico City since early June after graduating from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. He was not on assignment at the time of his death, according to the AP. The U.S. Embassy is monitoring Mexican authorities as they investigate the circumstances of his death.
Montano, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a concentration in Latin American studies from Grinnell. During his time with the Associated Press, he covered stories including the saga of nine young elephants from Namibia who wound up on animal reserve in Mexico’s Puebla state, and the shooting of three federal policemen at the Mexico City airport, the AP said.
“Armando was a smart, joyful, hardworking and talented young man,” said Marjorie Miller, AP’s Latin America editor based in Mexico City. “In his short time with the AP, he won his way into everyone’s hearts with his hard work, his effervescence and his love of the profession.”
Montano had said he planned to pursue a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Barcelona in the fall.
Montano’s other journalism experience includes reporting for The New York Times, The Colorado Independent, The Seattle Times, and the Scarlet & Black, Grinnell’s College student newspaper.
“Mando was a standout young journalist, with a rare passion and exuberance for life and for people,” Richard Berke, an assistant managing editor at The New York Times, told the AP. “He accomplished so much and touched so many in a short time, and his potential was truly limitless.”
Montano was the recipient of an Ellen Masin Persina Scholarship from the National Press Club in 2008, a Newhouse Scholar with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in 2008 and a Chips Quinn Scholar from the Freedom Forum for Diversity in 2011, according to the AP. He belonged to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
He was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Colorado, but he lived for two years as a child in Costa Rica and spent time in Argentina and on the U.S.-Mexico border with his family.
Montano is survived by his parents, Diane Alters and Mario Montano, of Colorado Springs, who both teach at Colorado College.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
We cannot continue to allow our children to go to other countries and die.We must be aware of what's lurking in dark corners.Rip
yes yes...lets build huge walls all around our perfect no crime, no drug, no rape, No serial killing,no child molesting, no political corruption, non racist, empty jail cell, non homeless, etc etc county !! oh and lets keep our kids passports till we die, then get get it back then...
PLEASE STICK TO CARTOONS !
R.I.P Armando Montano
Sad Story but you gotta be smarter. Everyone knows about all the corruption and killings going on in Mexico and the last thing anyone should do is go down there and start to mettle and report on all the corruption.
true Lima but I remember way back when I was 22. I took some risks in life that I would never do now. RIP young man.
LA .. oh I mean Mexico still a @!$%# hole and always will be
I am so sad to hear this about this young talented writer.....americans need to stay out of mexico or the us should just take over and make in part of the united states....
Only one thing comes to mind: "the shooting of three federal policemen at the Mexico City airport". We cannot blame only Mexican corruption and those "evil" cartels. We should blame the Americans for drug use, for selling guns to the South, etc. Americans are involved in the Mexican corruption and Mexican cartels. Those who think it's only a Mexican problem are wrong.
I voted for your comment based on your first sentence. If he was investigating that shooting, he may have found something that led to his death.
The rest of your post I disagree with entirely. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. American drug users are responsible for their drug use. The Mexican killers are responsible for the murders they commit, and the drug runners are responsible for transporting drugs.
2 SIDES TO EVERY COIN:
why do people do drugs? they are unhappy...why are they unhappy...too many reasons to list !
as long as people are unhappy , there will ALWAYS be drug/substance/alcohols abuse whether if its from the guy on the corner or from a script from the Doc...
Despite what or how it happened a smart educated young man was killed in Mexico, and I send my condolences out to his Family & Friends.
Such a promising future was infront of this young man who had goals in his life. SO sad, he was definately too young!!!
Unfortunately the profession of a journalist is as dangerous as greatfull could be, it's so sad that such a succesfull and promising young man died for his convictions but I think is really unfair that everybody blames the entire Country of Mexico for that; I visit Mexico several times per year and believe it or not I never had or presence any incident of violance, on the contrary everyone is so kind and helpfull; so please don't make such a hurtful statements if you don't even have any idea what's going on, precisely for all the negative information the press publicize the people without their own judgment spread this nonsense; I hope the incident get clarified and whoever is responsible pay for that! R.I.P. Mando!
My condolences to this man's family. This reporter really got shafted early in his career.
one minute you pay your respect...then you joke about his death? shame on you....fool !
Mexico should be a zero destination for any American. The corruption, vice, killing, it's all too rampart and they'll kill you for a timex watch. Visit one of the American or British Islands, lots safer.
I feel sorry for this kid and his family. Not all of Mexico is messed up, but the government is as corrupt as they come. Corruption in our own government too. When you can crash two aircraft into two buildings and destroy three, all of them over 45 stories tall, and tell the people it was fire that caused them to implode, now that is what I call corrupt. Drug cartels have destroyed Mexico and made it even worse then it was before because we buy the drugs. As a matter of fact there was a CIA aircraft filled with cocaine that crashed in Mexico recently. I don't think many of you knew that though.
But Mexico is still brutal. Don't take my word for it. Go to www.bestgore.com. It all makes me wonder what is mans purpose on earth when we can take another human life, with no compunction whatsoever, and still call ourselves human. Unfortunately, Mexico is where lots of brown and dark brown people live. There are also a lot of the indigenous people there who are still here too, except that they were almost totally wiped out by racism and disease.
Anyway, because these people are brown and dark brown of course they will be called savages. There is no difference between what we do to our own here in the states then they do to their own in Mexico. Except Mexico and its journalist risk their lives everyday to let the world know about their countries corruption. Most journalist in the US give American citizens lies on top of lies. And what is really sad is that many Americans believe those lies. We will probably never know why this young man was killed. Such a tragic end to a life full of promise. Very sad.
It amazes me how Mexico as a whole gets such a bad rap for Americans safety. I have traveled throughout Mexico years ago and personally would not do it anymore. But I still fly to the resort areas of Playa del Carmen and Cancun. The big problem as some have mentioned is the corruption in Mexico. From the policemen to the politicians. If you drive in Mexico, carry some cash to pay a small bribe to the policeman for some made up offense that they stop you for. Over 150,000 Americans cross the border into Mexico every day. In 2010, 120 Americans were murdered in the entire country. 175 were murdered in New Orleans which has a population of about 350,000. I guess Americans should avoid New Orleans. The statistics are similar in many other US cities like Baltimore, Chicago, etc. Most Americans were murdered in Mexico while traveling at night on the highway. People need to use a little more common sense when traveling. But crimes do hit the Mexican population worse than Americans. My wife, who is from Mexico City, had her cousin and cousin's boyfriend murdered last year while on a beach south of Acapulco. Her best friend had one of her relatives kidnapped for a couple of months until a ransom was paid.
Well said Charles. Mexico is dangerous but so is the rest of the planet. Always has been.
Mexico is exceptionaly dangerous at the present time elvis. I wouldnt go there if I were you.
If the job of our elected President, Senators and Congressmen is to keep our country safe, these people are getting lots of MONEY FOR NOTHING as there has never been such extreme violence inflicted on our People by our Mexican Neighbors. we need them OUT of our Country and a MASSIVE Electrified fence to keep them out.
Prayers to Armado, and his family. Such a beautiful man to end so young. May GOD love you forever!
Montano, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a concentration in Latin American studies from Grinnell. NOW....he has a graduate's Degree in Mexican Drug Lord Politics with a Concentration in "Fast and Furious".
What a dirty shame. Never have I ever seen an elevator shaft. How does one even look in a shaft. This is very suspicious. His dreams were coming true. Alot of work in his studies, He traveled ,was headed for big things. Look at that face. So happy. How many times have i heard of these journalists getting killed for knowing too much and asking too many questions. I mean real journalists ,not those posers who read notes and teleprompters like sawyer, couric, lauer et al. Picking up millions for plumping their faces and putting on their makeup. Real journalists alot of the time end up like this. What can I say,? The evil that goes on continues. I applaud this young man. He was living his dreams during this short time he was here. So sorry.
Mexico is a @!$%# hole. and it is NOT just drug cartels. why do we go to pakistan and other places, when we really should be in MEXICO!!
This young man went to make a name for himself. He bit off much more than he could chew. My condolences to his family.
Shame this young man that had such a passion for what he did died as soon as his wheels warmed up, my condolences to his parents and loved ones.
i use to love visiting Mexico, we use to go 2 times a year ...haven't gone in 5 years..no longer a safe place ...not safe for tourists or law biting locals...shame !
SHUT DOWN THE BOARDERS, BRING BACK ALL OUR TROOPS...LINE UP OUR TROOPS ON OUR BOARDERS !
My prayers go out to his family, this young handsome man had everything to live for and contribute to society. The corruption in Mexico is unbelievable, this certainly was no accident, it might of been some kind of revenge for articles he had written. Rest in peace - my prayers for your family are immense.
This young man sounded like he was a credit to humanity. Too many sick ones amongst us.
I too used to visit Mexico often. No mas.
Guess the Cartel doesn't like the paparrazi... haha
WHATS THE "HAHA" FOR ? Whats funny Jason ? Please share ....
i wonder if it was you , if your parents would thing "haha"
IDIOT !
Makes me want to off some Mexican bad guys, but they'll have to get in line behind the Syrians, Iranians, and Egyptians, and other various and sundry Arab types. There's just too many bad guys to go around. You might want to throw in some North Koreans for balance. What a screwed up world. It's turned into dookey and the hogs are eatin' it.
We have more than our share of bad guys in the USA. Bad guys go back as long as mankind has been on the planet.
buckwheat, problem is....the USA, Obama Administration is bringing them in en masse from all over the World. The Bad guys are being concentrated right here in the USA and being funded right out or the Treasury of the USA.
not true jimmy. My stepson has been waiting 8 years to legally immigrate from Ukraine. Obama has no more to do with this than Bush did. The border is never going to be secure.
yeah well he @!$%#ed up when he wrote about federal police gettin killed. who do you think killed the federalies? i obviously dont know but when pigs get killed in mexico its usually the cartels. so ergo he probally wrote about something he shouldnt have had his nose in and he pissed off sum 1. moral of the story is stay the hell outta mexico. i used to live in yuma ariz. and went to mexico all the time back in 1996-97. used to fet twisted in good al tijauana. i ws with a bunch of meximericans but still no 1 ever bothered me. mexico isnt for white americans. not being a racist but like sum one else said especially educated white people either your gonna get poped for coming off snooty or your gonna get kidnapped and held for ransom. mexico just isnt what it once was. its just a bunch of ruthless money and power worshiping drug dealers. again sorry for this guy but let it not be in vein. let it serve as a warning. stay north of that border.
So sad about this young mans death. Mexico is more and more a "third world country", just sinking lower and lower. Can't blame it all on "demand", no ones forcing people to be drug dealers. Get real. The govt there has been so abismal for so long. Hopefully, the country will progress, education being a key resource. Hope it happens for Mexico and those it affects negatively. And then there is the migrant issues. After all , if work was there in Mexico, no one would have to be an illegal. I do hope Mexico improves, for the people.
I kinda see your point...on the flip side tho we are a Country that is going from 1st world to 3rd world..that makes me sad...a lot of 3rd world countries are rising above and we are losing it !
Not an easy living in Mexico for the honest folks.
They stated they were unsure of the circumstances (including cause) as of yet of his death? They didn't state the cause of his death although some in this blog believe he fell down an elevator shaft? Where did that come from? Maybe another victim of gun violence? Fast and Furious? Probably not but just as plausible as anything else brought up here. All conjecture at this point!