The Cuban government rejected "guaranteeing freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, as well as the free activity of human rights defenders, independent journalists and those in opposition to the government," from among 292 formulated recommendations by the UN Human Rights Council, according to a Notimex report published in the Diario of Cuba.
Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico and Dominican Republic were the countries in the Americas with the most alerts on violations or possible threats against freedom of expression in 2012, according to Amnesty International's 2013 annual report on the state of human rights around the world.
With six countries listed without a free press, including three countries with some of the highest levels of impunity in the world for press crimes, Latin American freedom of expression is at its lowest levels since 1989.
Cuban journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias was freed this Tuesday, reported the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. According to statements to Martí Noticias by Martínez, agents from the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) left him near the premises of Hablemos Press, the independent news agency he works for as a correspondent.
The International Press Institute, IPI, demanded the immediate release of Cuban journalist Calixto Martínez who was arrested for insulting authorities, according to a press released from the organization.
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.
Cuban journalist Calixto Ramón Martínez Arias began a hunger strike on March 6 to demand his immediate release.
After winning a five-year battle for the right to travel outside Cuba, blogger Yoani Sánchez was met by protestors when she deplaned after arriving at her first international destination, Brazil. Demonstrators in the airport lounge supporting the Castro regime held signs accusing Sánchez of being under the influence of the United States, reported the website Terra.
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.
Cuban news agency Hablemos Press reported the arrest of independent journalist Héctor Julio Cedeño on Feb. 5, for allegedly attacking a police officer in Havana, the capital.
After more than 20 denied requests in the last five years, well-known Cuban blogger and activist Yoani Sánchez was granted on Wednesday a passport to travel abroad.
Mexico and Cuba were the worst places for journalists in the Americas, tensions between the government and privately-owned media continued to escalate in Ecuador and Argentina, and Canada lost its position as press freedom leader in the continent.