The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), a U.S. based organization, called upon officials in the U.S and Mexico Saturday to increase protections for Mexican reporters. The request comes following the murder of journalist Gregorio Jimenez de la Cruz and the government's controversial investigation of the killing that has caused international outcry.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the fact that two years after the killing of brother-and-sister journalists Verónica and Víctor Hugo Peñasco, Bolivia’s justice system still has not tried anyone for the murder, even though the prosecution originally arrested ten suspects.
On the night of Feb. 13, journalist Pedro Palma, 47, was shot to death in Miguel Pereira, a town located in rural Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, says news organization G1. The military police say that two individuals on a motorcycle shot Palma three times in front of his home. He died immediately.
After finding the body of Mexican reporter Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz on Feb. 11, Veracruz state authorities said the kidnapping and killing were likely motivated by personal vengeance -- something other journalists are finding hard to believe, the Associated Press reported.
More than 20 years after the fall of the dictatorships and civil wars that dominated Latin America, the region continues to be marked by a strong retaliation against the press, according to Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) most recent annual index on the state of press freedom, which was published on Feb. 12.
A day after the death of Bandeirantes TV’s cameraman Santiago Andrade on Feb. 10, Brazil’s Minister of Justice José Eduardo Cardozo met with the leaders of the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (Abert), the National Association of Newspapers (ANJ) and the National Association of Magazine Editors (Aner) to discuss ideas on how to improve the safety of journalists, according to Agência Brasil.
Authorities in the violent state of Veracruz found on Tuesday the body of reporter Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz, who was missing since last week. Four people allegedly linked to his murder are in custody, reported Mexican daily El Universal.
Santiago Ilídio Andrade, 49, a Brazilian cameraman from Bandeirantes TV was injured last week by an explosive device during a protest in Rio de Janeiro. He was confirmed brain-dead on Monday morning by the Municipal Department of health, according to the news outlet Uol.
The trial of 11 persons accused of killing Brazilian journalist and blogger Décio Sá began on Feb. 3 in the Brazilian state of Maranhão – almost two years after the crime took place, Brazilian news organization G1 reported.
Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission will investigate the Jan. 23 murder of a journalist in Guerrero. It is the first killing of a journalist in Mexico this year.
Last Friday Judge Yvickel Dabresil accused nine persons – several of whom were close to former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide – of being involved in the 2000 murder of well-known journalist Jean Leopold Dominique. At the time, Dominique was openly critical of Aristide’s re-election, Reuters said.
Twelve journalists were killed in Latin American countries in 2013, according to an annual report by Reporters Without Borders released today.