A radio host in Peru claimed she was fired because of pressure from the mayor of her city, Cajabamba, in the north of the country, reported the Press and Society Institute (IPYS in Spanish).
The Inter American Press Association's (IAPA) 67th General Assembly in Lima, Peru, ended with the organization issuing a series of resolutions and conclusions highlighting the fact that "attempts to silence the independent press" in Latin America have continued to mount in 2011, as evidenced by the rampant "physical violence, the murder of journalists and the impunity of these crimes, lawsuits, arbitrary arrests, verbal abuse, and the manipulation of government advertising to laws or restrictive bills."
Journalist Wilson Cabrera, whose community radio station was closed by the Ecuadorian government, was prohibited from traveling to the United States by judicial order, reported the newspaper El Universo.
The Venezuelan National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) ordered the television channel Globovisión, known for its critical editorial stance toward President Hugo Chávez's government, to pay a nearly $2 million fine, reported the news agency EFE.
A Brazilian photographer was arrested after refusing to delete photos of police attacking two young people participating in a gay pride parade on Oct. 16, in the city of Itabuna, Bahia, reported the newspaper Correio 24 horas.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF in French) expressed concern about possible attacks by Chilean security forces against freedom of information on the eve of more student protests on Oct. 18.
About 200 neighbors and employees are standing watch night and day at the offices of a TV news station in the city of El Alto (on the outskirts of the Bolivian capital of La Paz) after a labor union threatened to physically seize the station, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Cuban human rights activist Laura Pollán died on Friday, Oct. 14 of respritory complications in a hospital in the Cuban capital, Havana, reported The New York Times. Pollán was the outspoken leader of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), a group that demanded the release of political prisoners in Cuba.
A Colombian court sentenced the newspaper Cundinamarca Democrática's founder and editor to 20 months in prison and a $5,500 fine for criminal libel, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Brazilian television journalist Paulo Benito lost his contract with SBT affiliate TV Allamanda in the state of Rondônia on Oct. 6, after he was accused of "merchandising" for a politician, according to the website Gazeta de Rondônia.
An Ecuadoran court suspended journalist Emilio Palacio's three-year prison sentence and $40 million fine for defaming the Andean country's president, Rafael Correa, reported BBC Mundo.
Journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias of the Hablemos Press agency was detained on Sept. 30 and is currently awaiting expulsion from the Cuban capital of Havana to his hometown of Camagüey in the east of the communist country.