Cameraman Alejandro Márquez was shot in the leg May 10, 2011, during violent disturbances in the city of Medellín, Colombia, Caracol Radio reports.
The Office of the Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemned the recent deaths of two Brazilian journalists: Valério Nascimento and Luciano Leitão Pedrosa, Folha de São Paulo reports.
Approximately 40 journalists from different media outlets in the Pacific port city of Buenaventura walked out of their workplaces on May 9, 2011 to protest threats and violence faced by reporters in the region, El País reports.
Journalist Héctor Francisco Medina Polanco, who reported on land conflicts with ranchers and alleged corruption in the northwestern city of Morazán, became at least the 12th journalist killed in the past 18 months in Honduras, the Associated Press reports.
Journalists at Radio Victoria in El Salvador received new death threats from an “extermination group” that has targeted the broadcaster since 2006, Prensa de Frente reports.
A group of nearly 100 individuals attacked a car driven by journalist Jaime Althaus, who works for the El Comercio-owned Canal N TV, Peru.com reports.
The Supreme Court found six former Navy officers guilty for their involvement in the abduction and execution of journalist Jaime Aldoney on Sept. 12, 1973, the day following the Chilean coup that installed a 17-year military dictatorship, AFP reports.
Colombian journalist Gonzalo Guillén’s computer and a hard disk with more than 15 years of work were stolen from his home in Bogotá towards the end of April, the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) reports.
On May 3, media workers all over Latin American used World Press Freedom Day to denounce violence against reporters and media outlets and to demand protection, as new reports showed that the region has become one the most dangerous in the world to practice journalism. Press Freedom Day was also marred by the news that two journalists, one in Brazil and another in Peru, were shot to death in separate incidents.
Brazilian journalist Valério Nascimento was found dead on May 3, after having been shot repeatedly in the city of Rio Claro in the interior of Rio de Janeiro state, iG and the Associated Press report. The crime was the second journalist killed on the same day as the celebrations for World Press Freedom Day 2011.
While activists worldwide celebrated World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the violent death of a Peruvian radio journalist that same day was a stark reminder of the dangers faced by media workers. La República reports that Julio César Castillo Narváez was shot to death in the city of Virú, 340 miles to the northeast of Lima.
A total of 68 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000, while another 13 remain missing, says a new report by Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), El Universal reports.