Americas

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Venezuelan authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalists Rory Branker, Nakary Mena Ramos, and Gianni González, drop all charges against them, and ensure that journalists in Venezuela can work freely and without fear of retaliation. “Pervasive attempts to silence critical voices under Venezuela’s Chavez and Maduro regimes must…

An estimated 268 Nicaraguan journalists have fled the Central American country for exile, many settling in the neighboring Costa Rica, to escape what CPJ’s research has documented to be a government-backed system of political repression and judicial harassment against media outlets that often prevents journalists, fearing for their families, from reporting the truth. Yet for…

Mexico City, January 6, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the detention of at least 14 journalists and media workers in Caracas during the inauguration ceremony of Delcy Rodríguez as president, and urges Venezuelan authorities to guarantee that journalists can report freely without intimidation, surveillance, or retaliation. On January 5, 13 journalists and media…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 37 other civil society and press freedom organizations in a joint statement calling on Venezuelan authorities  to guarantee a peaceful and democratic transition that respects human rights and freedom of expression after President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the United States in a January 3 strike. As documented by CPJ, Maduro’s administration launched a media…

Washington, D.C., December 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to recommit to independence after Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency is “not an independent agency, formally speaking” during a Senate oversight hearing on December 17. The word “independent” was also removed from the FCC’s official mission statement website during the hearing. “FCC Chair…

São Paulo, December 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Peruvian authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the attacks against journalists Mitzar Castillejos Tenazoa, shot at gunpoint on December 12, and Anthony Rodríguez Rumiche, whose car was shot at least 20 times in front of his home on December 19. Tenazoa, host of Radio Latín Plus and director of…

Mexico City, December 19, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Guatemalan authorities to quickly and comprehensively complete its investigation into the killing of journalist Jorge Agustín Zapeta Aguilar, determine whether he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice. Zapeta, 56, was found dead on December 16 in a rural area…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 press freedom and media partner organizations in a December 12 letter calling on Miami-Dade State Attorney Fernandez Rundle to drop charges against photojournalist Dave Decker. On December 16, all charges were dismissed. Decker was arrested on November 22 while covering a protest near the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Krome North…

Update: Following the DHS’s decision to drop its proposal to deport the journalist to Uganda, CPJ calls on the agency to ensure that the journalist can stay in the U.S. while continuing the process of applying for asylum. Washington, D.C., December 18, 2025—The Trump administration’s plan to deport a Chinese citizen journalist — who fled…

Washington, D.C., December 17, 2025— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against British public broadcaster, the BBC, and calls on the president to stop engaging the media in lawsuits that appear to challenge the fundamentals of the First Amendment. “The president’s lawsuits against the BBC and other news outlets undercut…