Guatemalan journalist Héctor Cordero is known for three things: for being the only full-time journalist covering the department of El Quiché for a national TV newscast, for his relentless reports on corruption and abuse of authority, and for regularly angering public officials in the region. In the current struggle over political power in El Quiché, Cordero has become an extremely bothersome figure for the department's ruling class.
A lawsuit filed by the head of the Argentine Federal Revenue Administration (AFIP in Spanish) against a journalist was denied for the second time, reported the newspaper La Nación.
Press freedom in Brazil was hostage to violence against journalists in 2012. Just days before the end of 2012, another case was announced that illustrated the escalating hostility and threats against reporters.
Journalists have not escaped the violence that has dominated life in Colombia over the last several years. According to statistics from the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP in Spanish), 160 reporters were victims of some kind of threat, violence, illegal detention or killing in 2011.
A photographer in the Brazilian state of Roraima alleged the head of the state's military police attacked him and ejected him from a government event on Dec. 23, 2012, reported the newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
Reporter Mauri König was advised to leave Brazil due to threats he received after publishing accusations against the police in Paraná state, reported the newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
A court in Ecuador denied an injunction that sought to rescind an executive order from President Rafael Correa prohibiting his ministers and other public officials from giving interviews to private media, arguing that there was no evidence of a "violation of a constitutional right".
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) admitted the case of murdered Colombian journalist Hernando Rangel Moreno, reported the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) in a press release on its website on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.
The organization Article 19 posted five videos on its website about the working conditions of Mexican journalists. The videos consist of interviews with Mexican journalists who talk about their experiences first hand covering violence and organized crime.
The obstacles keep coming for the distribution of Colombian-American Santiago Villa's documentary on President Rafael Correa. According to the Ecuadorian NGO Fundamedios, YouTube and Vimeo took down the video after the company Ares Rights brought a lawsuit for copyright infringement.
Reporters for Gazeta da Povo, the newspaper of record in Paraná state, Brazil, were threatened with a supposed attack, according to reports from the publication. On Monday, Dec. 17, the newsroom and the management of the newspaper received threatening telephone calls warning about a possible attack.
Journalists unions in Bolivia rejected the Life and Disability Insurance Law for Press Workers enacted by President Evo Morales on Monday, Dec. 10, reported the website Los Tiempos. The proposed insurance would be paid for with one percent of the monthly total gross revenue of public and private media organizations and managed by a board with majority State representation, added the website.