An attack on a photographer in Colombia by the National Police on Oct. 23 prompted press organizations to demand more investigations and punishments against those that harm journalists.
Four assailants poured petrol on a Bolivian reporter and lit him on fire during his radio program on Monday night, Oct. 29, reported BBC. Fernando Vidal, owner and director of Radio Popular in Yacuíba, a city along the border with Argentina, is in critical condition, reported the EFE news agency.
A Bolivian journalist claimed bullets were fired at the door of his home in the southern city of Tarija on Oct. 11, reported the news agency ANF. Reporter Humberto Vacaflor reported the attack to the local police but the Special Force to Fight Crime asked him to bring the suspects to the station himself, the agency added.
A member of the Colombian National Police attacked a photographer on Tuesday, Oct. 23, reported the newspaper Vanguardia Liberal. Ana María García, photographer for the newspaper El Tiempo, was covering a serious accident on the mass-transit system of Bogotá, the capital, when the officer attacked her, according to the newspaper.
Mexican journalists denounced police attacks that interfered with their coverage of student protests in the city of Cherán, Michoacán, reported the organization Article 19.
Two Mexican journalists accused four police officers in the state of Puebla of abusing their authority after they detained the reporters and robbed them, reported the newspaper Milenio.
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA in Spanish) denounced the "serious harassment" facing the media in a local community, the organization reported in a statement on its website on Tuesday, Oct. 16. According to FOPEA, this is the third time dispatchers for the newspaper El Debate have been attacked in Zárate, Buenos Aires, while delivering the publication.
On Monday, Oct. 15, The Brazilian Public Ministry of Paraná announced it would investigate the disappearance of video journalist Anderson Leandro da Silva, reported the website G1.
The state attorney for Baja California, Mexico arrested the alleged killer of journalist Abel López Aguilar, according to Azteca Noticias. López was the editor for the news website Tijuana Informativo and was found dead on the morning of Monday, Oct. 15.
The 68th Inter American Press Association (IAPA) General Assembly will conclude Tuesday, Oct. 16, with debates focused on the future of freedom of expression and journalism in the Americas. Since Friday, Oct. 12, reporters, media owners and critics have been meeting in São Paulo, Brazil to discuss crimes against the press, the sustainability of journalism, digital journalism and copyright rules.
The Press and Society Institute (IPYS in Spanish) of Venezuela recorded 19 incidents that affected press freedom in the country during the presidential elections that took place on Sunday, Oct. 7, the group said in a report released on Oct. 11. According to IPYS Venezuela, the events happened between the week before the elections and the days after the results were announced.
The Global Editors Network (GEN) released a statement on its website calling attention to the Argentine government's attacks against the press in what it described as a "press freedom crisis." GEN warned that the government's intentions to break up Grupo Clarín and seize its assets on Dec. 7 is a threat to press freedom in Latin America.