President Hugo Chávez's administration informed the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Tuesday, Sept. 11, that Venezuela will begin the formal process of leaving the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the IACHR Court, according to the website El Mundo.
A Colombian judge sentenced a journalist for the crime of conspiracy, punishable with up to 18 years in prison, claiming the journalist had connections to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC in Spanish), reported Europa Press.
The Argentine Association of Journalistic Entities (ADEPA in Spanish) released several statements on Friday, Sept. 7, asking authorities to ensure freedom of expression in the city of Pilar, in the province of Buenos Aires.
The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji in Portuguese) sent its suggestions to the United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for an Action Plan to improve the protection of journalists and combat impunity.
Ecuadorian non-governmental organization Fundamedios filed a lawsuit challenging President Rafael Correa's order that public officials not give interviews to certain media outlets, reported the website Cerigua.
Six Mexican Senators presented a bill to publish public spending for all levels of government in print and electronic media, according to the newspaper El Universal.
Ecuadoran journalist Luis Arnoldo "Noro" Ruiz was found dead with a gun shot wound to the head on Monday, Sept. 3, in the coastal tourist city of Playas, Guayas, reported the newspaper El Universo.
In a statement released on Friday, Sept. 7, the Chilean state newspaper's union announced the government's decision to close La Nación, according to the AFP.
The case of Peruvian journalist Rudy Palma, who served two months in jail for hacking into the e-mail of government officials, has started a national debate in the South American country over how to regulate information technology without threatening other liberties.
An Argentine reporter went on a hunger strike at the end of August, six years after her contract with a television channel was not renewed, reported the news group Rosario3. "I want them to give back my voice and job," said the journalist.
Paraguay's state-owned TV Pública fired 27 reporters on Tuesday, Sept. 4, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The controversial mayor of the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz has stepped up his verbal attacks on the press. During a press conference on Saturday, Sept. 1, Mayor Percy Fernández Áñez threatened to kill the journalists for the newspaper El Deber, according to the website La Patria.