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Violence Against Journalists

Peruvian journalist Mitzar Castillejos dies two weeks after being shot

"A Peruvian journalist who was recently shot by hitmen died this Friday [Dec. 26] in a hospital in Lima, a press guild reported, bringing to four the number of reporters killed by organized crime this year in the South American country. Mitzar Castillejos, 34, was shot on Dec. 12 as he left his home in […]

Gunman shoots at car of Peruvian journalist

"Journalist Anthony Rumiche of the news outlet Prensa Callao TV was the target of an attack on the night of Friday, Dec. 19. Security cameras captured the scene. The attacker fired at point-blank range and fled while two motorcycles moved slowly, seemingly surveying the area. Minutes later, the car alarm and the sound of the […]

Rory Branker disappeared; joins 5 other news professionals detained in Venezuela

"A contributor to the digital outlet La Patilla, Rory Branker, 43, was arrested on Feb. 20, 2025, in Caracas by officers of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN, for its initials in Spanish) as he was leaving his home. He spent 206 days incommunicado before his family was finally allowed to see him in a holding cell of the […]

Man sentenced to 14 years for attempted murder of Mexican journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva

"Armando Escárcega Valdéz, also known as 'El Patrón,' acknowledged to federal court authorities that he led a criminal cell responsible for the attack on journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva, which was carried out on the orders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG, for its Spanish acronym). The admission of guilt came as part of an […]

Guatemalan reporter found dead after he reported threats

“Journalist Jorge Agustín Zapeta Aguilar, 56, was found dead Tuesday afternoon in San Pablo Jocopilas, in Guatemala’s Suchitepéquez department, days after he was reported missing. Local media said his body was found along the road leading to the El Aguacatal area of the municipality, on the roadside near a coffee plantation. In a statement, the […]

Journalists fight for government transparency amid Haiti’s insecurity

"Violent attacks and threats waged by a coalition of militarized gangs are among the many risks Haitian journalists face to report the news amid intensifying insecurity in the country’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Yet as a rotating cast of transitional leaders hope to restore order across the Caribbean nation, journalists say a lack of transparency and hostility […]

Journalist Mitzar Castillejos survives shooting in central Peru

"Around 1:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12, two hitmen on a motorcycle attempted to kill journalist Mitzar Bato Castillejos Tenazoa, host of Radio Latín Plus 107.7 FM and director of the social media news portal Bato a Informarte Noticias. The attack occurred as he was heading to work in the [Peruvian] city of Aguaytía, in […]

Journalists condemn harassment of reporter by federal agents in Iguala, Mexico

"Journalists from Chilpancingo and Acapulco issued a statement of solidarity with their colleagues in the city of Iguala, especially Natividad Ambrosio Cueva, after she was harassed and intimidated by members of the Secretariat of Public Security and Citizen Protection, who, in addition to making threats, took photographs of her and her vehicle. According to the […]

Press advocates call on Mexican federal mechanism to solve failures in protective measures for journalists

“The Committee to Protect Journalists joined Espacio OSC, a coalition of Mexican civil society organizations, in a joint statement expressing deep concern over irregularities in the implementation of basic protection measures for journalists by the Mexican Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. [...] In recent weeks, CPJ and Espacio OSC […]

Hospitalized journalist said he was attacked in home by Honduran mayor

"Journalist Henry Torres reported on Saturday [Dec. 6] that he was allegedly assaulted by the mayor of San Marcos, Ocotepeque, Gerardo Antonio Mejía, in an incident he links to his reporting on the mayor's administration. In statements to [media outlet] HCH, Torres recounted that the attacks occurred after the publication of several investigations denouncing Mejía's […]

Media teams attacked by security guards while reporting on fire in Ecuador

"Teams from various media outlets were attacked by private security personnel at the Guayaquil land terminal while carrying out their reporting work outside the complex. Journalists and cameramen arrived near midnight to report on a fire that occurred in the terminal's food court near midnight on Monday Dec. 8. [...] At around 2:30 a.m., a […]

Potential release of accused killer in Colombia alarms press freedom group

The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) expressed its deep concern about how the Colombian Attorney General's Office is handling the case of Carlos Arturo Landázuri, alias “El Gringo,” accused of the killing of journalists Paul Rivas, Javier Ortega, and Efraín Segarra, of the Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio, in 2018. In a Dec. 6 statement, FLIP […]