Even as two imprisoned journalists are refusing to eat in protest against the Cuban government, on Saturday, Feb. 12, Cuban authorities freed another independent reporter -- who has spent the past eight years in prison — in the latest round of political prisoners being released from jail, reported the Miami Herald and the Associated Press.
An armed group attacked the facilities of two media outlets and shot to death a worker on Feb. 9 in the city of Torreón, in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila, one of the regions most affected by drug trafficking violence in the country, reported the local press.
The Cuban government has lifted access restrictions on the more than 40 of the country’s dissent bloggers’ websites, continuing the apparent drawdown in attacks against the opposition, which included the release of political prisoners last year, the Miami Herald reports.
Seven journalists were killed in Colombia in 2010, and total attacks on the media were almost double the number that occurred over the previous four years combined, says the annual report of the Colombian Federation of Journalists (Fecolper).
Award-winning journalist Carmen Aristegui accused the Mexican government of pushing for her dismissal after she asked President Felipe Calderón to clarify whether he had alcohol problems, BBC reports.
A journalist investigating human rights violations committed during the Uruguayan dictatorship (1973-1985) received a “veiled threat” Feb. 7, when his personal information was published on Facebook, La República reports.
Haitian journalist Jean Richard Louis Charles was shot to death on the street in the Haitian capital city of Port-au-Prince, The Associated Press reports.
The Venezuelan government said the private sector continues to control media in the country, El Universal reports, in spite of its efforts to restrict print, broadcast, and digital content.
Mexican media personality Carmen Aristegui, the award-winning host of one of the highest-rated radio programs in the county, was fired by MVS Radio after discussing allegations that President Felipe Calderón is an alcoholic, EFE reports.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has asked the Mexican Supreme Court to respect the right of citizens to express their electoral opinions through the media.