The Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists will run out of funding at the end of September, mobilizing press advocates to demand the federal government guarantee resources for the program to continue.
In Colombia, civil society has made a series of appeals to the State to stop the wave of attacks and threats against journalists and social leaders that has been taking place with increasing intensity over the last four years, according to the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP, for its acronym in Spanish).
As attacks against journalists in Nicaragua grow after months of protest, independent journalists in the country are calling for freedom to carry out their work. They are also expressing hope in the international organizations on the ground that are working to curb violence in the Central American nation.
Radio journalist Jairo Sousa was killed while arriving at Rádio Pérola FM in the northern state of Pára in the early morning of June 21. He was going to host his program “Show da Peróla.”
While reporters don helmets to cover violent protests in Nicaragua, human rights and press organizations are calling on the international community to pay attention to attacks on journalists and news media amidst protests against the government of President Daniel Ortega.
After four journalists from investigative journalism site Armando.info left Venezuela due to a looming defamation lawsuit, an important group of journalists and organizations that defend freedom of expression and the press throughout Latin America have signed a statement warning about the serious deterioration of the conditions facing the Venezuelan press.
Mexican blogger Pamela Montenegro was shot to death on Feb. 5 in a restaurant in Acapulco.
Raúl Velázquez, Cuban executive director of the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and of the Press (ICLEP, for its initials in Spanish), has been missing for six days.
Colombia’s Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP for its acronym in Spanish) rejected threats against journalists Jineth Bedoya Lima and Salud Hernández Mora, as well as political and social leaders, allegedly proffered by a block of the illegal armed group Águilas Negras. The organization also demanded that authorities guarantee protection so that the journalists can continue with their work.
Venezuelan journalist Jesús Medina announced on Nov. 23 that he left his country due to threats against him and his family because of his work. In early November, Medina went missing for two days in what he says was an abduction due to his reporting on how Tocorón prison in northern Venezuela is allegedly controlled by prisoners.
Through his Twitter account, Medina said he was tortured and threatened with death. He thanked the press, his colleagues and all those who pressured for him to be found. "I was born again to continue reporting the truth and to fight more for my country, Venezuela," Medina wrote, adding that he was currently being sheltered.
For harassing, persecuting, censoring and establishing legal frameworks against Venezuelan journalists and media, the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) condemned the practices of the Nicolás Maduro’s government against the freedoms of the press and of expression.