Brazilian journalists and international journalism organizations are dismayed that Brazil, along with Cuba, Venezuela, India and Pakistan, decided to block a U.N. plan that would have promoted journalists' safety.
On Tuesday, March 27, in a public hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, journalist organizations called 2011 the worst year for the Venezuelan press because of the rise in attacks against reporters and news media, reported the AFP.
Venezuelan newspaper employees from La Prensa de Barinas must provide the Bolivarian Intelligence Service information related to various investigations initiated after corruption allegations were published in the newspaper, reported El Universal on Wednesday, March 28.
Various Venezuelan press associations issued statements criticizing the court decision that ordered the media to publish a technical report supplying evidence for previous stories published about water contamination in the central region of the country.
Just seven months from the upcoming presidential elections in Venezuela, attacks against the press have intensified, according to Reporters Without Borders.
On Thursday, March, 15, a live interview conducted by Globovisión was violently interrupted by members of the community council of Isla de la Culebra, in the state of Carabobo, according to the National Union of Journalists of Caracas.
On Thursday, March, 15, a Venezuelan journalist was publicly threatened with kidnapping while broadcasting live for a TV and radio station in Anzoátegui, reported the news site Noticiasdeaquí.net.
On Sunday, March 11, the group La Piedrita (Little Stone) held a protest at the entrance of television station Globovisión, requesting the Venezuelan government investigate the death of two group members killed in an armed confrontation that occurred in a Caracas neighborhood on Saturday, reported the newspaper El Universo.
Journalist Nelson Bocaranda criticized a presumed plan to discredit journalists who comment on controversial political events that happen in Venezuela, reported the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) on Monday, March 12.
On Monday, March 12, the World Day Against Cybercensorship, Reporters Without Borders released its "Enemies of the Internet" list for 2012, placing Cuba on the list of countries that restrict Web freedom. In 2011, Cuba also appeared on the list.
The radio host of the program "Semicolon," Adolfo Superlano, requested protection from the prosecutor's office as the journalist said he felt threatened and feared being physically abused by officials of the state of Barinas, in southwest Venezuela, reported the network International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) on Friday, March 9.
Venezuelan journalist Laure Nicotra criticized the arbitrary cancellation of the news program that she had hosted for five years on TV station Canal 7 in the state of Barinas in southeast Venezuela, reported the National Association of Journalists of Caracas.