One journalist murdered, another shot at and another arrested and beaten by the police are the latest victims of a wave of violence against the press in Haiti, a country where eight journalists have been killed so far this year. At the same time, the social-political crisis and poverty are slowly suffocating the Haitian media.
In the first month of 2022, Latin America took the lead as the deadliest region for the press, with seven journalists killed: four in Mexico, two in Haiti and one in Honduras.
Two journalists were killed by gang members in Haiti on Jan. 6. A police report said their bodies had been recovered with "large-caliber bullet wounds," according to AP. Several organizations demand thorough investigations.
The spike of public protests that sometimes turned violent has not been met with enough preparation by Latin American journalists who find themselves in the midst of confrontations, experts say.
A Haitian journalist was hit by a gunshot as police fired live ammunition during a protest in Port-au-Prince on Sept. 30, according to the radio station where he works, Radio Sans Fin.
Haitian photojournalist Dieu Nalio Chery was hit in the face by a bullet after a senator shot his gun in the country’s Senate yard on Sept. 23, as reported by the Miami Herald.
Luckson Saint-Vil, a journalist for the site Loop Haiti, was on his way home in southern Haiti when his vehicle was shot multiple times. He survived.
The car of Haitian journalist Kendi Zidor, reporter and columnist for newspaper Le National, was shot several times in Port-au-Prince, according to local media.
Vehicles at Radio TV Ginen were set on fire on June 10 and the attack was denounced by Rospide before his death, according to AlterPresse.
Haitian journalist Robenson Sanon was hit by a bullet in his forearm while covering protests in Port-au-Prince on Feb. 13.