A group of cartoonists will participate on Friday, June 14, in an auction of political cartoons to benefit nine displaced Mexican journalists who currently live in refuge in Mexico City due to death threats.
The prohibition of the press from entering and covering the Venezuelan legislative body, which began a new session in February of this year. The situation, widely criticized by various organizations, is symptomatic of the tense state in which the country's media finds itself, even two months after elections put President Nicolás Maduro into power.
In an interview with Reporters Without Borders, Mexican journalist Verónica Basurto Gamero, who has lived in exile since March, criticized the country's Mechanism to Protect Journalists, saying that two months of threats and harassment made her doubt the effectiveness of this government resource meant to help members of the press.
An explosive was thrown in front of Venezuelan newspaper Panorama's building on May 27, reported the site La Patilla. No one was hurt and there were no damages.
The drug trafficking groups known as Bacrim -- which formed after the paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia surrendered its weapons -- are now part of the threats journalists must face.
Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico and Dominican Republic were the countries in the Americas with the most alerts on violations or possible threats against freedom of expression in 2012, according to Amnesty International's 2013 annual report on the state of human rights around the world.
Thousands of Venezuelans that used to support Globovisión, a television channel that before being sold a few weeks ago was known for its opposition to the Chavista government, expressed their resentment on Twitter and unfollowed the channel after journalist Francisco 'Kiko' Bautista was fired, reported newspaper El Universal.
The comments the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, makes on a weekly basis through his TV program "Enlace Ciudadano" against news outlets and journalists have recently raised concerns among organizations like Fundamedios and the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression of the Organization of American States.
The founder of the popular Mexican website Blog del Narco has fled the country after a colleague that helped her administer the site went missing.
In just under two weeks, Colombian journalists have had to face one of their greatest fears: the resurgence of violence as a means to muzzle freedom of expression commonly used during the height of armed groups and drug traffickers.