The National Association of Bolivian Journalists (ANPB, for its initials in Spanish) and the Association of Journalists of La Paz (APLP) have declared an “emergency” in rejection of articles of the country’s new Penal Code the entities say could be used against professionals in retaliation for their work.
Peruvian and North American citizen Miguel Arévalo Ramírez has filed several suits against Peruvian journalists and media for aggravated defamation, Ojo Público reported on Nov. 7. Ramírez filed the complaint against the media outlets for having reported the investigations against him by the Peruvian Police Department's Anti-Drug Directorate (Dirandro), the Peruvian Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and asks for US $210 million in reparation.
In Honduras, journalist Jairo López accused the president of the National Congress, Mauricio Oliva, of organizing a smear campaign against him through social networks, Tiempo Digital reported.
The Bolivian government premiered the controversial 80-minute documentary, “The Cartel of Lies” (“El Cártel de la Mentira”), which generated profound rejection from journalist associations, activists and citizens of that South American country. The documentary was carried out by Juan Ramón Quintana, Bolivia’s minister of the presidency, and contains attacks against the country’s independent press.
In the last week, both Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui and the news site she directs, Aristegui Noticias, have denounced a series of events that, without knowing if they are linked, bring into question how secure the journalist and her team are in the country.
Adela Navarro Bello, co-director of Mexican weekly Zeta, which is based in the state of Baja California, denounced an alleged plan by state authorities to carry out a smear campaign against her.
A Bolivian judge shelved legal proceedings against journalist Humberto Vacaflor that were started after President Evo Morales filed a case against the journalist for criminal defamation.
At the request of the prosecution, a criminal court in Bogotá, Colombia agreed to terminate the investigation for injuria (defamation) against journalist Juan Esteban Mejía Upegui, according to newspaper El Espectador.
A Peruvian court annulled the conviction of Rafael Léon Rodríguez, a Peruvian journalist who was sentenced on May 3 for aggravated defamation, La República reported. The original sentence carried a one-year suspended prison term and a payment of 6,000 nuevo soles (about US $1,800) in civil damages.
In Honduras, investigative journalist Ariel Armando D’Vicente Jarquín, 48, was sentenced to three years in prison for the crime of defamation for reporting on a former police chief, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).