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.
Cuban authorities detained blogger and freelance photographer Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo on Saturday, Sept. 1, reported blogger Yoani Sánchez in her Twitter account.
The Peruvian prosecutor's office raided a bookstore on Aug. 24 in Lima and confiscated copies of a magazine accused of advocating for the armed Peruvian group Shining Path, according to the news portal Terra.
The Ecuadorian journalist who had been sentenced to three years in prison and fined millions of dollars for allegedly defaming Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has been granted asylum by the United States, according to the Guardian.
Chilean national police, known as Carabineros, detained an independent journalist covering the national student and professor march in the capital, Santiago, reported the Venezuelan News Agency.
The freedom of expression organization Article 19 announced the release of the report "Digital Freedom in Brazil," which aims to serve as a resource to bring Brazil in agreement with international freedom of expression standards and improve online expression in the South American country.
On Monday, Aug. 27, the criminal division of the Colombian Supreme Court reversed its decision to sue journalist Cecilia Orozco Tascón for libel and slander, reported the Foundation for Press Freedom. The Court charged Orozco on Aug. 23, after she published an opinion column in the newspaper El Espectador questioning the criminal division's decisions.
Two newspapers and a news agency in Bolivia face charges of "diffusion and incitement of racism or discrimination." The news agency claims it only reported what President Evo Morales said in a speech, reported the newspaper La Razón.
On Thursday, Aug. 23, the Colombian Supreme Court announced a libel lawsuit against a journalist, and criticized commentaries published by another journalist, reported the newspaper El Tiempo and the magazine Semana. The court was upset over the columns that questioned and criticized some of the court's decisions.
The Bolivian government said that it would sue the Fides News Agency (ANF in Spanish) for alleged defamation against Bolivian President Evo Morales, although the case is still being analyzed by a legal team, reported the newspaper Los Tiempos.