Concerned about the growing threat of slander and libel lawsuits as tool to censor the press, the Free Press Foundation (FLIP in Spanish) released "Outside Justice: a manual for journalists facing slander and libel charges,".
On Jan. 21, 60 Colombian governors and mayors will sign the Inter American Press Association's (IAPA) Declaration of Chapultepec, according to a press release from the association.
A government decree that would temporarily suspend tax credits enjoyed by the media in Honduras sparked controversy in the country, according to a report from the website Centinela Económico.
The U.S. government named freedom of expression one of three "specific challenges" in its strategy toward Latin America, along with energy resources and education, reported the news agency EFE.
An anarchist collective claimed that Cuban customs officials confiscated a mail package containing samples of a Venezuelan newspaper, according to the website Havana Times.
Several journalism and human rights organizations criticized the fine that TV broadcaster Globovisión received from Venezuela's National Telecommunications Commission after running a series of videos regarding Chávez's inability to be present for the presidential inauguration.
Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, said he would continue confronting the press that he accuses of manipulating information on favor of business interests if voters re-elect him on Feb. 17, reported the website América Economía.
Honduran President Porfirio Lobo criticized media organizations for reporting on the roaring violence in the country, which includes the highest murder rate in the world at 92 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
The Salvadoran Association of Journalists (APES in Spanish) released its annual report on the advances and challenges to freedom of expression in the Central American country.
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA in Spanish) released a statement criticizing public and private media companies for pressuring journalists to meet their respective editorial stances during 2012.