April 24, 2001

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK

BANCO NACIONAL de MÉXICO, S.A.

Plaintiff,

v.

Index No. 00603429

MARIO RENATO MENÉNDEZ RODRIGUEZ,
AL GIORDANO, and
THE NARCO NEWS BULLETIN,

Defendants.
____________________________________________

AFFIDAVIT OF AL GIORDANO WITH RESPECT TO NARCO NEWS BULLETIN

Al Giordano, being duly sworn depose and say:

1. The website, www.narconews.com ("website") came into existence on April 7, 2000.

2. Narco News Bulletin is simply a name that I chose to identify the material placed on the website.

3. Narco News Bulletin does not have any independent existence. As such, it has no assets, agents or employees.

4. Narco News Bulletin is not a partnership, corporation, unincorporated association or other legal entity.

5. I established www.narconews.com by computer on April 7, 2000, while I was living in Mexico. The website was established to open a robust dialogue and debate on the drug war in Latin America and the effects of that drug war on democracy, human rights, and the people of Latin America.

6. I moved to Mexico in September 1998 and have lived there since that time.

7. Except for a short visit to Spain, I did not leave Mexico between mid-March 2000 and August 9, 2000, the date on which the above-captioned complaint was filed ("relevant time period"). Obviously, I did not enter New York during that time period.

8. At the time that the website was established in Mexico, I received a password for the website, which I entered into a software program on my computer called Adobe Page Mill. The password has remained exclusively in my control.

9. Without the password to the website, articles cannot be placed on the website.

10. During the relevant time period, I have posted or made material available to be viewed on the website by taking the following steps:

(a) The material to be posted on the website was laid out on my computer screen, using Adobe Page Mill.

(b) After the material was laid out, I moved the cursor on the computer screen to a menu item titled "upload" and clicked the mouse.

(c) This caused the material to be sent by computer to an internet server in Maryland.

11. Within seconds of the click of the mouse on my computer, the material that I had laid out on my computer screen became available for viewing on the website from anywhere in the world.

12. During the relevant time period, 80 articles were made available on the website.

13. Each of the 80 articles concerned drug policy, with an emphasis on Latin America.

14. All the underlying journalism with regard to the articles at issue in this lawsuit was performed in Mexico.

15. All the articles at issue in this lawsuit were researched and written in Mexico.

16. From the date of the establishment of the website (April 7, 2000) through the date of the filing of the complaint in this matter (August 9, 2000), no one other than myself was directly involved in the production of the materials made available at www.narconews.com.

17. All the production work with regard to www.narconews.com was performed in Mexico or Spain.

18. When a domain name is established, it is done by computer. When I established www.narconews.com, as I stated above, I was in Mexico.

19. At the time that a website is established, a person is required to provide, among other information:

(a) The name and address of a registrant.

(b) The name and address of a billing contact.

(c) The name and address of an administrative contact.

20. When I established the website, I indicated that the registrant was Narco News Bulletin, the billing contact was Al Giordano, and the administrative contact was Al Giordano, all with an address of P.O. Box 20743 in New York City. This was a post office box that I had opened in the fall of 1996, when I was a temporary guest of a friend in New York and which I had retained after I moved to Mexico in July 1997.

21. I chose to use the New York post office box as the address of the three contacts when I established www.narconews.com because, at that time, as well as presently, I was reporting on the drug war in Latin America. I was aware that a number of journalists doing similar work had been killed and/or physically injured. Accordingly, I used my old post office address in New York, rather than my residential address in Mexico, in an effort to keep the location of my residence in Mexico secret. In fact, I had lost the key to the post office box in March 2000, the month prior to the establishment of the website. I never obtained a duplicate key and I never opened the post office box after March 2000. At some point after March 2000, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the post office box was reclaimed for non-payment of rent.

22. The website is passive in the sense that it has never been used to send or receive messages to or from individuals. Any communication by me with visitors to the website is through an e-mail address, not the website.

23. During the relevant time period, the website had no subscribers.

24. No business has ever been conducted on the website.

25. The website has no bank accounts in New York or anywhere else.

26. No advertising has ever been done on the website.

27. Nothing has ever been sold on the website.

28. No contracts pertaining to, regarding, or concerning the website have ever been made.

29. I alone have worked on the website.

Dated: April 24, 2001

___________________________
Al Giordano

This affidavit and accompanying exhibits are offered to the Court in support of:

Motion to Dismiss by The Narco News Bulletin

Motion to Dismiss by Al Giordano

And are filed together with:

Affidavit by Al Giordano

Affidavit by Al Giordano With Respect to Narco News Bulletin

Affidavit by Karen Thatcher concerning Banamex "Agency" in New York

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