Tomás Eloy Martínez

Argentine writer and journalist Tomás Eloy Martínez, who died on Monday after a long battle with cancer, was ranked among Latin America’s most prominent intellectuals. Best known for his novels about former President Juan Domingo Perón and his wife Eva, Martínez cared deeply about press freedom and was a passionate advocate who helped scores of Argentine reporters, and was actively involved in CPJ’s efforts to campaign on behalf on Cuban imprisoned journalists.

Martínez understood the difficulties journalists face while working on dangerous assignments or under repressive regimes. In 1975, he was forced to flee Argentina after serious threats from a right-wing paramilitary group. He lived in exile during the dictatorship era, and returned briefly to the country after democracy was restored in 1983.

Special Report on Cuba by the Committee to Protect Journalists

CUBA

Cuba remained one of the world's leading jailers of journalists,
second only to China. Two journalists were imprisoned during the year, joining 22 others who have been jailed since a massive crackdown on the independent press in March 2003. On the second anniversary of that notorious sweep, more than 100 prominent Latin American writers—including Tomás Eloy Martínez, Sergio Ramírez, Carlos Fuentes, Elena Poniatowska, Daniel Santoro, and Antonio Caballero—joined CPJ in signing a letter to President Fidel Castro Ruz calling for the immediate, unconditional release of the imprisoned journalists.

Dozens of Latin American writers join CPJ in urging Castro to release jailed colleagues

New York, March 16, 2005—More than 100 prominent writers, editors, and reporters throughout Latin America joined the Committee to Protect Journalists today in calling on Cuban President Fidel Castro to immediately release 23 jailed journalists, saying the two-year-long imprisonments violate "the most basic norms of international law" and represent "an affront to human dignity."

The demand, made in a letter sent today to Castro and signed by 108 writers from 18 countries, comes nearly two years to the day that Cuban authorities swept up dozens of independent journalists and dissidents in a massive effort to silence political criticism. Signers of today's letter include Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, Argentine author Tomás Eloy Martínez, Brazilian journalist Geraldinho Vieira, and Venezuelan editor Teodoro Petkoff.

CPJ Update March 16, 2005 News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

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Below is a list of Latin American journalists who have signed the petition to free Vázquez Portal Lista de periodistas latinoamericanos que han firmado la petición para liberar a Vázquez Portal