The administration of Bolivian President Evo Morales announced on Monday, Aug. 27, that it plans to sue the Brazilian magazine Veja for an article published in June linking Minister of the Presidency Juan Ramón Quintana to drug trafficking, reported the website Brasil 247.
Two newspapers and a news agency in Bolivia face charges of "diffusion and incitement of racism or discrimination." The news agency claims it only reported what President Evo Morales said in a speech, reported the newspaper La Razón.
In a press release on Friday, Aug. 24, the National Journalists Union (CNP in Spanish) criticized the attacks against a Venezuelan news team from the Globovisión TV channel, while the journalists were covering a prison conflict in southern Caracas, the capital of the country.
The freedom of expression organization Article 19 said that the recent killing of two Mexican photographers was not necessarily an attack against freedom of expression, according to a statement published on Monday, Aug. 20.
O governo do presidente Evo Morales anunciou nesta segunda-feira, 27 de agosto, que vai processar a revista Veja por uma reportagem publicada em junho que vincula o ministro da Presidência Juan Ramón Quintana ao narcotráfico, informou o site Brasil 247.
About 18 people impersonating Mexican reporters of the news station Televisa were arrested at the border between Nicaragua and Honduras on Friday, Aug. 24, and were accused of money laundering and organized crime, according to El Nuevo Diario.
After circulating for more than 30 years, the Uruguayan newspaper UNoticias announced it is ending its print edition and moving exclusively online as of Monday, Aug. 27, according to the news portal El País.
On Monday, Aug. 27, Brazilian civil society organizations launched the campaign "Freedom of Expression--A New Law for a New Time," reported the National Forum for the Democratization of Communication. The campaign marks the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Telecommunications Law and calls for a new "general communication law" that defends plurality, diversity, and equal access to media and telecommunications in the South American country.
On Thursday, Aug. 23, the Colombian Supreme Court announced a libel lawsuit against a journalist, and criticized commentaries published by another journalist, reported the newspaper El Tiempo and the magazine Semana. The court was upset over the columns that questioned and criticized some of the court's decisions.
Some 200 people are working on the publication "No se mata la verdad matando periodistas" (Don't Kill the Truth by Killing Journalists), a book that will tell the stories of 126 killed or disappeared reporters and press workers in Mexico since 2000, according to Reporte Índigo.
The Bolivian government said that it would sue the Fides News Agency (ANF in Spanish) for alleged defamation against Bolivian President Evo Morales, although the case is still being analyzed by a legal team, reported the newspaper Los Tiempos.
On Monday, Aug. 20, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) declared the blockade on the circulation of newspapers in Argentina a "press freedom violation." “While the unions have a legitimate right to express themselves, their actions cannot limit the right to press freedom nor restrict people’s access to the information that the news media disseminate," IAPA said.