President Hugo Chávez's administration informed the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Tuesday, Sept. 11, that Venezuela will begin the formal process of leaving the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the IACHR Court, according to the website El Mundo.
A Colombian judge sentenced a journalist for the crime of conspiracy, punishable with up to 18 years in prison, claiming the journalist had connections to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC in Spanish), reported Europa Press.
The Argentine Association of Journalistic Entities (ADEPA in Spanish) released several statements on Friday, Sept. 7, asking authorities to ensure freedom of expression in the city of Pilar, in the province of Buenos Aires.
A group of Mexican civil society organizations decided to pull out of the assembly to form the Fund for the Protection of Human Rights Advocates and Journalists because of a lack of transparency.
In a statement released on Friday, Sept. 7, the Chilean state newspaper's union announced the government's decision to close La Nación, according to the AFP.
The case of Peruvian journalist Rudy Palma, who served two months in jail for hacking into the e-mail of government officials, has started a national debate in the South American country over how to regulate information technology without threatening other liberties.
An Argentine reporter went on a hunger strike at the end of August, six years after her contract with a television channel was not renewed, reported the news group Rosario3. "I want them to give back my voice and job," said the journalist.
Paraguay's state-owned TV Pública fired 27 reporters on Tuesday, Sept. 4, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Judicial censorship of newspapers and blogs is on the rise leading up to municipal elections in Brazil. On Monday, Sept. 3, journalist Fernando Conceição claimed that a mayoral candidate tried to censor him in the city of Salvador.
On Thursday, Aug. 30, the Ecuadorian magazine Vanguardia sued President Rafael Correa for $2 million in moral damages, along with the court costs and lawyer's fees, reported Europa Press and the newspaper El Comercio.
On Aug. 28, a new anti-terrorism bill was presented in the Peruvian Congress that could restrict freedom of expression and the press in the South American country, according to the AFP.
On Aug. 29, federal police agents invaded the offices of the newspaper Correio do Estado in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul to stop the release of the Aug. 30 edition of the newspaper that included the results of an voter poll.