A Honduran journalist and gay activist was found dead on Monday, May 7, after having been reported missing for two days, according to the BBC. Journalist Erick Martínez Ávila was a spokesperson for the group Kulkulcán, which represents the rights of homosexuals in Honduras. He was also a Congressional candidate for the National Resistance Front party, which was created by followers of the ousted President Manuel Zelaya, reported the news agency EFE.
Another Mexican news outlet was the target of an attack on Monday, May 7. This time the shooting was against the newspaper Hora Cero in the city of Reynosa, on the Texas border, according to the newspaper Vanguardia.
The U.S. government called on Ecuador to guarantee freedom of expression “and to make sure journalists can work without fear of threats or punishments," reported the news agency EFE. The U.S. government also criticized the case of Ecuadorian journalist Cesar Ricaurte, director of the Ecuadorian NGO Fundamedios, who has received death threats for his criticisms against the government, added EFE.
On Thursday, May 3, Reporters Without Borders marked World Press Freedom Day by condemning the "furious pace of physical attacks" on journalists, noting that in 2012, one journalist is killed every five days. The same day, news also came that two more Mexican journalists were found dead in the state of Veracruz. So far this year, Reporters Without Borders has recorded the killings of 21 journalists and six "netizens" and citizen journalists.
Cuba is listed among the 10 top countries with the highest levels of press censorship worldwide, according to a recent report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The report cites government control of the news media, Internet providers that block information, arbitrary detentions, and defamatory campaigns against independent journalists as the reasoning for the bad censorship record.
On Monday, April 30, during unrest at the La Planta prison, in Caracas, Venezuela, the country's minister of prison services, Iris Varela, told the state-run TV channel Venezuelana Televisión (VTV) that the private TV broadcaster Globovisión was spreading "malicious information" and an order was issued to seize the station's equipment and interrupt the channel's transmission, reported the National Association of Journalists (CNP in Spanish).
Two Mexican journalists were found dead in Veracruz on the morning of Thursday, May 3, only days after the killing of journalist Regina Martínez, reporter for Veracruz’s Proceso news-magazine, according to the Los Angeles Times. The finding of the two dead journalists coincides with World Press Freedom Day.
After the recent killing of Mexican journalist Regina Martínez, from the news-magazine Proceso, the Mexican House unanimously approved the Law for Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists on Monday, April 30, reported CNN México. The bill mandates that Mexican authorities provide protection for threatened journalists and was already approved last week by the Senate. Now all that is left is for the president of Mexico to put the law into effect.
After the killing of Brazilian journalist Décio Sá, of the newspaper O Estado do Maranhão, on April 23, other local reporters and editors said that they also receive frequent threats, according to Último Segundo.
On Monday, April 30, the International Press Institute (IPI) condemned the recent series of verbal and physical attacks on journalists in Argentina, Honduras, and Panamá, allegedly by politicians.
Less than 15 percent of the world's population lives in a country with a full free press -- the lowest level in more than a decade, according to Freedom House's new report, Freedom of the Press 2012, released Tuesday, May 1. The global press freedom rankings were released to coincide with the May 3 celebration of World Press Freedom Day.
A Brazilian police reporter's house was attacked by gunfire in the wee morning hours of Saturday, April 28, in the city of João Pessoa, capital of the state of Paraíba, reported the portal Uol.