Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sánchez announced her intention to establish an independent news organization on the island when she returns from her world tour, reported Agence France-Presse on Sunday, March 10.
The Press and Society Institute (IPYS in Spanish) said that the first months of 2013 have been "disastrous" for freedom of information in Peru, according to a report published by the organization on its website.
Renowned Mexican reporters Marcela Turati and Javier Valdez, as well as Chilean narrative journalist Cristian Alarcón, will discuss on Feb. 28 their work and the need to forge a bridge between journalists and academics during a forum hosted at the University of Texas at Austin.
President of El Salvador Mauricio Funes has named the commissioners of the Public Information Access Institute after 15 months of delays, and 10 days after vetoing a reform that would have weakened the new body, said El Faro.
Venezuela's Information Minister Ernesto Villegas announced on Wednesday, Feb. 20, the establishment of the new Bolivarian Communication and Information System, reported teleSUR. According to the minister, the new apparatus should generate content different from that found in a capitalist culture and strive for "true independence."
The Peruvian Public Defender filed a constitutional complaint against one of the articles in Legislative Decree 1129 on Feb. 15, which it claims violates the constitutional right to "access public information," reported the newspaper La República. Article 12 of the decree declares that all information related to national security and defense is classified, added the newspaper.
The president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes, vetoed reforms to the Access to Public Information Law that would have weakened the institution overseeing the law's implementation, according to the website El Faro, on Friday, Feb. 15.
Despite the first signs of activity from a massive fiber optic cable connecting Cuba and Venezuela three weeks ago, there appears to be little improvement in Internet access on the island, according to a report from Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez on the Committee to Protect Journalists' website.
The Salvadoran Congress approved reforms to the Access to Public Information Law that strip the autonomous access to public information institute of the power to declassify secret documents and order public institutions to respond to requests for information, according to El Faro.
Following the release of a video showing the shooting deaths of two young people in Honduras and the publication of several violent events in the country, the president and security minister of Honduras are blaming the media for harming the country's image and causing social damage.
The Mexican Supreme Court declared laws that restrict information presented as part of a preliminary investigation are unconstitutional and restrict the public's right to access information, reported the newspaper Reforma.
On Feb. 5, security officers at the Venezuelan National Assembly prevented reporters from privately-owned newspapers from covering an event at the country's legislature in the capital, Caracas, reported the website La Patilla.