A judge in a Peruvian court issued an order to intercept the phone calls of eight journalists and a congressperson, reported the Press and Society Institute (IPYS in Spanish).
Mexican state legislators approved a constitutional reform that will allow federal authorities to investigate crimes against journalists, reported the newspaper La Jornada on Thursday, June 7. In March, the Senate approved a proposal to make crimes against journalists federal jurisdiction, which before were dealt with locally. But, because this was a constitutional reform, the new measure also required the approval of the majority of the 31 Mexican state legislators.
On Saturday, June 9, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said that he is considering preventing public officials from granting interviews to for-profit, private news media, in an attempt to financing those families that own these news media outlets, reported the news agency EFE.
A Mexican police reporter and her son went missing the early morning of June 8, reported the newspaper Milenio.
The British newspaper The Guardian said it had documents that proved that a Mexican presidential candidate bought favorable coverage on the most important TV station in the country, Televisa.
The same project that caused Brazilian journalist Lúcio Flávio Pinto to be sentenced to pay moral damages also made him the winner of the 34th edition of the Vladimir Herzog Amnesty and Human Rights Award, reported the news site Ambiente Já. His journalistic work in the Amazon has led to more than 33 lawsuits against him, as well as many awards, such as four Esso awards, which are the most important awards for journalism in Brazil.
On Wednesday, June 6, the National Association of Journalists of Peru (ANP in Spanish) reported the temporary kidnapping and attacks that a Peruvian journalist suffered on May 27 by a large group of protesters against the Swiss mining company Xstrata in the province of Espinar, in Cuzco, reported the news agency EFE.
On Wednesday, June 6, the National Association of Journalists of Peru reported that on May 24, a judge from the department of Ancash emitted a sentence against a journalist for alleged defamation of a public official of the province. The sentence was suspended as long as the journalist follows certain rules, including "rectifying" damages within 15 days.
A Guatemalan TV reporter was injured while covering the eviction of university student protesters, reported the news agency AFP.
The 42nd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) ended on Tuesday, June 5, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, by welcoming the polemic recommendation to reform the Inter American System of Human Rights, presented by Venezuela and Ecuador, that amounts to nothing more than an attack on freedom of expression, said the Los Angeles Times. The OAS decided to put off application of the reforms for six to nine months to discuss the decision with parties involved, reported the news agency EFE.
Cuban authorities have given independent journalist Alexis Ferrer 72 hours to leave the island, reported the site Cuba Encuentro.
Armed individuals opened fire against the headquarters of a newspaper in the state of Zulia, in northeast Venezuela, on the night of Sunday, June 3, reported La Nación. This is the third attack in one week against news media outlets in the region.