I went to New York to talk about the situation on the border and in Mexico. I accepted the invitation of in memory of the more than 55 journalists killed in Mexico and the many others who've disappeared since 2000.

Mexico is one of the most dangerous places to work as a reporter. The risks I face as a U.S. journalist pale in comparison to those Mexican reporters confront daily on the job: threats, kidnappings, death. In just the last 30 days 2 reporters have been murdered in the border state Chihuahua. And in August gunmen killed a federal investigator looking into the murder of a police reporter gunned down in his driveway last year in Ciudad Juarez.

When I work on a story across the border in Juarez with border photographer Hugo Perez -- he and I can return to safety on the U.S. side. Those who report for Mexican media live and work in Mexico full time.

I am witness to the bloodiest period in Mexico since the 1910 revolution. And this crisis poses a threat to Mexico's national security, young democracy, and our shared border. In the battle for control of lucrative smuggling routes drug cartels have turned their high powered weapons on rivals, police, soldiers, and government officials, and yes -- journalists.

The escalating violence includes shootings in broad daylight on busy streets, massacres at popular restaurants, mass killings at rehab centers, beheadings.

President Calderon sent nearly 10,000 federal troops and police to restore order in Juarez but the killings - about a dozen a day, continue. Residents increasingly complain they feel caught in the cross fire and exposed to human rights violations - rather than protected by the military.

The majority of the murders whether cops, journalists, or average citizens, remain unsolved and unpunished. Investigations seem to lead nowhere.

Among the unsolved cases: the disappearance of the TV Azteca reporter and photographer who vanished on assignment 3 years ago in Monterrey. And the grenade attack on El Manana news paper in Nuevo Laredo several years ago.

And reporters and their news organizations in hotspots across Mexico often have to make life and death decisions about how much of the story to report and just how to stay safe. To survive: they self censor.

A cornerstone of any democracy and vibrant civil society is freedome of expression and nowhere in the Americas is that right more at risk today than in Mexico, especially on the border.

Killing a reporter has a chilling effect in a country where impunity reigns.
The drug cartels not only seek to curtail coverage but control it for maximum impact. Media savvy traffickers seek to terrorize not just rivals but entire communities.

Some tactics:

-Narco mantas or Narco banners placed in public places with a mutilated or at times beheaded body. The messages are usually warnings. Sometimes for corrupt cops they allege work for rival traffickers or government officials. Other times it's a simple hit list with names.

-We know some hit squads time murders to ensure coverage on top-rated late newscasts

-Some cartel members post their own crime scene video complete with music soundtracks on You Tube.

-Others put reporters on their payrolls to spy on colleagues or to serve as spokespeople who pass along directions to news organizations about cartel preferences for coverage.

While in Nuevo Laredo recently we were followed by cartel spies and approached by reporters who wanted to "interview" us to see what we were doing in town.

Their work taints other journalists and cast doubt on those who are killed. It's common to hear the question? Did he or she work for the cartel? Authorities who fail to adequately investigate the cases of murdered journalists often allude to this.

So what about U.S. media? Many news organizations are reluctant to risk sending reporters to cover the impact of drug violence across the border. Photographer Hugo Perez and I - we are often the only U.S. news crew in Juarez .

The recession and budget cuts also make it difficult for news organizations to devote resources to this story. While national media cover far off wars - the undeclared war raging next door -- receives sporadic coverage at best.

For those who cover this story day and day, the solidarity spearheaded by Reporters without Border is critical to ensuring the voices of journalists in Mexico and on the border are not silenced.