The media suffering most from the killings of at least eight journalists this year in Mexico are those in the interior of the country who are essentially defenseless against the violence, reported the Inter Press Service (IPS).
The Cuban government has said it will release 52 political prisoners, including opposition activists and journalists, The New York Times reported.
Dissident Cuban journalist Guillermo Fariñas, on a hunger strike for more than four months to demand the release of political prisoners on the island, said he is aware his death is approaching and that brothers Fidel y Raúl Castro are responsible for his future death, reported the news agencies EFE and AFP.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez upped his verbal attacks against opposition television station Globovisión, and reiterated that the government could confiscate the channel's stock in order to recuperate the money he alleges the station owners stole, reported El Universal and the Associated Press.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemned an “aggressive" television ad campaign by the government of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa against independent news media.
Vicky Peláez will be placed under house arrest and be forced to wear an electronic monitor, while the other nine suspects arrested for spying for Russia remain in custody, reported Reuters. Bail for the Peruvian journalist was set at $250,000, and she could be released as soon as next week, added El Comercio.
The government of Álvaro Colom has denounced a supposed plot to destabilize the country by various groups who are supported by "biased media" that "sell their pens to the highest bidder,” reported Siglo XXI and EFE.
Amnesty International reported that Cuba's repressive legal system has resulted in an atmosphere of fear for journalists, dissidents and activists, "putting them at risk of arbitrary arrest and harassment."
President Evo Morales enacted an electoral law that is drawing criticism from the opposition and the press for being a gag for the media during election times, reported La Razón.
The prosecutor's office believes it has sufficient evidence to charge Guillermo Zuloaga, president of the news station Globovisión, the only channel critical of the government still on the air in Venezuela, reported El Universal.
Clarín, a major Argentine newspaper, published an editorial Tuesday, June 29, accusing Cristina Kirchner's administration of “systematically attacking the independent press” and creating an “apparatus of private and state media to advertise for the government.” Clarín maintains a troubled relationship with the government.
Vicky Peláez, a Peruvian journalist based in New York, is among 10 people the United States has arrested and accused of being secret agents for Russia, reported the Associated Press. The network of informants supposedly was dedicated to recruiting political sources and compiling secret information to send to Moscow, added El País.