A group of renowned investigative journalists from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, who had gathered for the 8th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas, issued a declaration condemning the violence against journalists that is threatening freedom of expression from Mexico to the Southern Cone.
Authorities warned journalist Esteban Rosario that there was a plot against his life, Diario Libre reports. Several alleged killers would have received $25,000 for the reporters’ death.
News that a 21-year-old photography intern was shot to death Thursday in Ciudad Juárez, and that his 18-year-old colleague was wounded, increased the sense of urgency for members of 40 journalist training and safety organizations who gathered in Austin, Texas, Friday and Saturday (Sept. 17–18) for the 8th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas. The annual gathering focuses this year on the coverage of drug trafficking and organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean.
A photographer from the newspaper El Diario de Juárez was shot to death Thursday, Sept. 16, in a mall parking lot in Ciudad Juarez, ground zero for the drug trafficking violence in Mexico and just along the border with the United States, according to CNN. Another photographer, an intern at the newspaper, was seriously injured in the shoooting, according to the Associated Press.
Luis Galdámez, a reporter for Radio Globo and TV Globo, was attacked by three shooters in front of his house in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, La Tribuna reports. The journalist used his own gun to fight off the attackers.
Alejandro Hernández Pacheco, a cameraman for Televisa who was kidnapped by alleged drug traffickers in July, is in the U.S. seeking asylum for himself, his wife, and his two kids, CNN reports.
A female reporter for Mexico's TV Azteca was harassed by football players and a coach during the New York Jets' practice on Saturday, Sept. 11, reported the Associated Press (AP).
Similar to the United States' recent denial of a visa for television journalist Hollman Morris to come to Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow, now a second Colombian journalist, Claudia Duque, has had her visa request rejected, according to journalism.co.uk.
Journalist associations and Mexican authorities from Chihuahua, a state along the border with the United States that is one of the most violent zones in the world for journalists because of drug trafficking-related violence, signed on Sept. 6 the first safety protocol for journalists who cover high-risk news, according to Masnoticias and Tiempo.
Janaina Ribeiro, reporter for Gazetweb, was attacked and robbed the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 8, during a rally in Maceió in support of the candidate for governor of Alagoas in northeast Brazil, Teotonio Vilela Filho.
Two individuals set on fire the motorcycle of journalist Alberto Caballero Parejo, owner of the community radio station Innovación Estéreo (Innovation Stereo) in Ciéanaga, reported El Informador. Neighbors warned the journalist and helped him to put out the fire.
Marcelo Tejero Ocampo, a 64-year-old radio journalist, was found dead the morning of Sept. 7 in his home in the town of Carmen in the state of Campeche, reported El Universal.