At least half a dozen Dominican journalists were targeted online after being accused of receiving support from the U.S. government, highlighting how U.S. political narratives resonate in Latin America.
A radio announcer and the director of a radio station in the Dominican Republic were killed on the morning of Feb. 14 in the city of San Pedro de Macorís. According to EFE, an armed man entered the location and began firing several times. However, local media pointed out that there could have been two male attackers.
Matías Avelino Castro of the Dominican Republic, alleged mastermind behind the murder of Dominican journalist José Agustín Silvestre in 2011, was arrested on April 3 in Bogotá, Colombia, reported Colonel Juan Carlos Gómez, chief of Interpol Colombia, according to AFP.
Journalists in Haiti and the Dominican Republic urged the current Haitian President Michel Martelly to give them all guarantees necessary to properly cover the electoral process, which, they say, is taking place in the midst of attacks on freedom of expression by the outgoing government.
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.
The President of the Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic, Demostenes Martínez, announced yesterday that prison sentences for defamation and slander have been removed from the Penal Code reform, currently being reviewed in the legislature, said news website dr1.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is accusing the government of the Dominican Republic of the forced disappearance of journalist Narciso González 17 years ago, during the administration of former President Joaquín Balaguer (1986-1996), reported DiarioLibre.com.
Dominican TV journalist José Agustín Silvestre de los Santos, who is facing a defamation trial after accusing a prosecutor of supposed ties with drugtrafficking, was set free after six days in jail and after posting a $3,800 bail, reported Reporters Without Borders (RSF). However, Silvestre de los Santos, the host of the television program "The Voice of Truth" for the regional channel Cana TV in the Dominican Republic, still must appear before authorities in 30 days for the trial against him to continue.
The Dominican Journalism Guild (CPD) called on the authorities to end the wave of aggression faced by media workers in the Dominican Republic, Listín Diario reports. The CPD says there have been more than 30 incidents against members of the press in 2011.
A judge in the Dominican Republic has ordered TV reporter José Agustin Silvestre de los Santos held on $5,250 bail pending a trial for allegedly defaming a La Romana prosecutor in a report accusing the official of ties to drug trafficking, Diario Libre reports.
Six months after the online daily newspaper Clave Digital closed, the Dominican Republic has a new digital newspaper: Acento.
Dominican Republic journalist Francisco Frías, the director of Cabrera FM and the digital newspaper Prensa Libre Nagua, was shot by the police while covering a funeral, Terra reports.