The former director of the now-defunct Administrative Department of Security (DAS in Spanish) of Colombia, Jorge Noguera Cotes, will not be trialed for two charges related to the so-called “chuzadas” scandal, which involved the illegal wire tapping of journalists, politicians and opposition leaders during the administration of President Álvaro Uribe, according to several publications.
Luis Chancay, president of the National Educators’ Union of Guayas, Ecuador, filed a complaint before the People’s Defender on Sept. 23 because of a memorandum from the Ministry of Education. This memorandum prohibits rectors, directors and professors of educational institutions in the Province of Guayas from giving statements to the press without the authorization of the sub secretary of said ministry, according to the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universal.
As of Oct. 1, El Impulso, one of the oldest newspapers in Venezuela, will publish a shorter version of its edition due to a lack of printing supplies. In an editorial published by El Impulso on Sep. 29, the newspaper's editorial board states that it has been waiting 11 months for government authorization that allows it to import the necessary materials.
A Brazilian bill seeking to regulate Internet use is still under debate and Congress is set to vote on it by the end of October, according to Estado de São Paulo.
Mexican daily Reforma reported that a distributor of newspaper El Norte, belonging to the same editorial group, was physically attacked and threatened by armed men in the early morning of Oct. 1 in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, located in the northern state of Nuevo León.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called on the country's courts and authorities to consider “special measures” that would grant him the ability to sanction print, television and radio news media after accusing them of waging "a psychological war” over Venezuela's current food shortage.
The complaints Colombian journalist Manuel José Martínez Espinosa used to air through his community radio program on Popayán, Cauca cost him his life. He was killed on Sept. 28, 1993 in front of his house as his wife opened the gate to their garage.
Journalist and analyst Claudia López fled Colombia due to alleged death threats by a criminal organization, she reported on Twitter.
At least 15 journalists were the targets of aggressions from protesters and police officers yesterday in Mexico City while they covered the 45-anniversary of the student massacre in Tlatelolco.
The killing of a newspaper vendor in Colombia has alarmed organizations such as the Foundation for Freedom of the Press, FLIP, which suspect the crime intended to silence media outlets and their sources.
The popular news and commentary website The Huffington Post will launch its own Brazilian edition in partnership with Brazil's Grupo Abril, Huffington Post Media Group announced. The release date hasn't been released yet.
The Washington correspondent of Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, Cláudia Trevisan, was arrested on Thursday, Sep. 26 after trying to interview the president of Brazil's Federal Supreme Tribunal (STF) Joaquim Barbosa, who was attending a conference at Yale University.