The reelected president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, said the “big loser” of the election was the country’s private press when asked how it would figure in to his new mandate, said the newspaper El Universo. Correa said he would continue with the Communications Law because what the people want “is an honest and responsible press. Never with censorship, but with ulterior responsibility.”
A Mexican criminal organization is offering a reward for information about the administrator of a Facebook page and Twitter account, who over the last year has been reporting on violent crime in the state of Tamaulipas, one of the areas most affected by the country’s drug war, according to the magazine Proceso.
The São Paulo State Union of Professional Journalists denounced threats journalists received and other obstacles they faced while reporting in the interior of the state at the beginning of 2013, according to a statement form the organization on Feb. 13.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC in Spanish) guerrillas postponed the Thursday, Feb. 14 release of two kidnapped police officers in the country, alleging persecution from the media, reported the newspaper El Colombiano. The ICRC delegate for southwestern Colombia, Angela Bertini, reported the news, according to the publication.
A bill proposed in Honduras would create an organization to regulate media content, according to La Prensa.
The Brazilian National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ in Portuguese) filed a complaint with the Public Ministry in Sergipe on Feb. 8, regarding its criminal proceedings against journalist José Cristian Góes, which began at the end of January because of a fictional post on his blog for the Infonet website.
A few days before the presidential and parliamentarian elections in Ecuador, which will take place on Feb. 17, fears of lawsuits and other legal liabilities are holding back journalistic coverage.
An exhaustive report from the Committee to Protect Journalists on the situation for journalists around the world placed Brazil and Ecuador among the top ten countries where press freedom suffered the most during 2012, and named Mexico as the country with the most missing journalists in the world.
During the forum "Journalists: harm, memory and healing" on Feb. 8, in Bogota, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recognized the work of renowned journalist Hollman Morris. For the journalist, who former-president Álvaro Uribe accused of being allied with the FARC and had been followed by state intelligence agents, the acknowledgement could mark an positive turn in his relationship with the government.
Mexican journalists and bloggers need to urgently improve their understanding of digital and mobile security, according to a new report by Freedom House Mexico and the International Center for Journalists.
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.
As Colombia commemorated the Day of the Journalist on Saturday, Feb. 9, the president of the Venezuelan National Union of Journalists (CNP in Spanish), Tinedo Guía -- who was visiting the Venezuelan state of Táchira at the invitation of the North Santander Journalist Circle, a Colombian organization -- warned about the difficulties reporters face in his country, reported El Universal.