A Mexican reporter was found dead in the trunk of his car in the city of Cuernavaca, about 52 miles from Mexico City, reported the news agency AFP.
Although the headquarters of the Mexican newspaper El Mañana suffered an armed attack in the border city of Nuevo Laredo on the night of Friday, May 11; the reporters of the newspaper managed to finish Saturday's edition and return to work on the next day, reported the newspaper Detroit Free Press. Not even a grenade can stop the presses in Mexico,” was the headline for the Detroit Free Press, which highlighted the armed attack against the newspaper.
More than 100 Argentine journalists called for the government to guarantee access to public information, and for there to be press conferences, which, according to Argentine journalists, almost don't exist in the country, reported the news agency La Información, and the newspaper Clarín.
Brazilian Rep. Márcio Reinaldo Moreira slapped a reporter from the TV program Custe o que Custar (CQC) in the face, the night of Tuesday, May 8, in Brasilia, reported the portal UOL. Reporter Felipe Andreoli, victim of the attack, was interviewing the representative about the proposed constitutional amendment on slave work in Brazil and asked the politician if he didn't think it was unfair for the people to have to wait so long for such proposal to be voted on, according to the news site R7.
A Paraguayan journalist received a threatening letter at his home on Tuesday, May 8, from the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP in Spanish), reported the radio station 970 AM. The letter said "No to bourgeois journalism, protected by corrupt, nepotistic public officials. The armed struggle continues,” reported the newspaper Última Hora.
How much does a journalist in Mexico cost? According to an article in the Mexican newspaper Reforma, the answer could be hundreds of thousands of dollars if it's for Joaquín López Dóriga, news host for Televisa, the main Mexican broadcaster.
The Center for Informative Reports of Guatemala (Cerigua in Spanish) criticized the closure of two community radio stations and six local television channels so far in May. According to Cerigua, dozens of community broadcasters operate illegally because of a lack of legislation that would grant them operating licenses. As a result, the stations often suffer persecution at the hands of local authorities.
On Thursday, May 10, an appeals court ruled on the killing of Peruvian journalist Alberto Rivera Fernández in 2004 and absolved former Mayor Luis Valdez Villacorta of Coronel Portillo and former City Manager Zolio Ramírez Garay who were accused of being the masterminds behind the crime, reported the Press and Society Institute.
Although Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the press of distorting information on the same day the country celebrated Journalists' Day, on Thursday, May 10, the president said that freedom of the press in the country is "guaranteed" and approved a bill giving journalists life insurance, reported the news agency EFE, the newspaper La Razón, and the radio station FM Bolivia.
Amid Argentine public officials' mounting attacks against the press, the Inter American Press Association asked the Argentine government to "stop harassing and stigmatizing journalists,” reported the news agency Los Andes. The call comes as two more Argentine journalists were victims of officials' anti-press attitudes.
A journalist was surprised when he found a dynamite stick on his apartment's balcony in the city of Matozinhos in the state of Minas Gerais, on Saturday, May 5, reported the newspaper Estado de Minas. Oswaldo Mesquita, news site editor for Informatoz, was at his home with his wife, two kids, and other family members. There was no explosion, reported the news site G1.
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) has named El Salvador's online newspaper El Faro as one of the recipients of the 2012 Human Rights Awards, recognizing the site's investigative journalism that "shines a spotlight on corruption and organized crime," WOLA announced on Wednesday, May 9.