By Ingrid Bachmann
The fifth annual freedom of expression award from the Casa América Catalunya honors the work of Diario Co Latino for its defense of freedom of expression and its struggle to solve crimes committed during El Salvador's civil war, EFE reports.
The newspaper's editor, Francisco Elías Valencia, received the prize in Barcelona and said the award was a boost from Europe to El Salvador's media.
"Journalists should always be vigilant, since neither governments nor de facto authorities will agree with our work," Valencia said during the award ceremony. For that reason, he said, the struggle for freedom of expression and information is constant. “There is no place in the world where an employee of the executive, legislative, judicial or municipal branch isn't made uncomfortable by the work of the press, media, and journalists."
Last year's prize went to Nicaraguan journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
