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.
The Brazilian newspaper Diario da Região reported that city councilman Cesar Gelsi threatened a political reporter for the publication, Rodrigo Lima. The threats followed articles the journalist published calling Gelsi "the living-dead of politics" and included him in a list of officials charged with failing to pay backed taxes.
Regina Martínez, a Mexican journalist who was killed in the city of Xalapa, Veracruz last year, will have a street in Oviedo, Spain named after her, reported news agency EFE.
The British newspaper the Guardian released a statement admitting that Mexican television broadcaster Televisa' elections coverage complied with the Federal Election Institute's impartiality rules.
President of the Venezuelan National Journalists' Union (CNP in Spanish), Tinedo Guía, requested more protection for journalists who cover the country's legislature, reported the newspaper El Universal. On Tuesday, Feb. 5, reporters from private media organizations were prevented from covering an event at the National Assembly in Caracas.
A Venezuelan security agency open an inquiry into a journalist with the purpose of pressing charges against him for "instigating crime" with his articles about the killing of a prison gang leader in the city of Maracaibo, according to the website El Oriente.