Americas
2006
Venezuelan columnist shot to death in front of home
New York, August 29, 2006—An unidentified assailant shot and killed Venezuelan columnist Jesús Rafael Flores Rojas last week in front of his home in El Tigre in southwestern Anzoátegui province. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether Flores’ murder is related to his journalistic work. Flores, known locally as “El Pavo Flores,” was editorial…
Colombian radio commentator gunned down in his home
New York, August 28, 2006—Colombian radio commentator Atilano Segundo Pérez Barrios was murdered last week in his apartment in the northern city of Cartagena in the Bolívar province, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether Pérez’ murder is related to his journalistic work. An unidentified assailant forced…
Wounded Guatemalan radio host in stable condition
New York, August 25, 2006—Radio host Vinicio Aguilar Mancilla, shot Wednesday morning, was in stable condition at a Guatemala City hospital today as investigators sought his assailants. The Committee to Protect Journalists is monitoring the investigation to determine whether the attack was related to Aguilar’s journalistic work.
In Guatemala, a radio host wounded in shooting
New York, August 24, 2006—Guatemalan radio host Vinicio Aguilar Mancilla was seriously injured Wednesday when unidentified assailants shot him in the face as he was jogging in Guatemala City, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. Aguilar was recovering today after undergoing surgery. Two men approached Aguilar, host of a daily political show on Radio…
Grenade attack on newspaper that reports on drug trafficking
New York, August 24, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a grenade attack on the Mexican daily Por Esto!, the third attack since June on the Cancún-based newspaper that has investigated local drug trafficking and government corruption. Unidentified assailants driving an SUV with tinted windows lobbed two hand grenades shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday into…
Two photographers targeted by gunmen during shootout
AUGUST 22, 2006 Posted: August 25, 2006 Luis Alberto Cruz, Milenio Jorge Luis Plata, Reforma ATTACKED In the early morning, a group of heavily armed, unidentified individuals, traveling through the southeastern city of Oaxaca in a convoy of at least 30 cars shot at a group of antigovernment protesters and at Cruz and Plata, two…
Antigovernment protesters seize 12 private radio stations
New York, August 21, 2006—Protesters including striking school teachers in southern Mexico seized 12 private radio stations today after unidentified assailants shot up a government-owned station already under the demonstrators’ control. At least 50 protesters of the antigovernment group, Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO), simultaneously took over each of the stations in…
Arrest of a suspected mastermind in Ortiz Franco murder
New York, August 17, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today urged Mexican authorities to investigate the suspected involvement of Arturo Villarreal in the 2004 killing of a Tijuana newspaper editor. Villareal was picked up as part of a drug sweep by U.S. security services on August 14. A Mexican prosecutor last year identified Villarreal, who…
CPJ Update
CPJ Update Committee to Protect JournalistsAugust 16, 2006 CPJ Calls for Release of Kidnapped Fox News JournalistsAfter gunmen ambushed a Fox News Channel crew in the center of Gaza City on August 14, and abducted correspondent Steve Centanni, a U.S. citizen, and freelance cameraman Olaf Wiig of New Zealand, CPJ called for their immediate and…
Abducted TV reporter released after station airs kidnappers’ tape
New York, August 14, 2006—A Brazilian television reporter abducted by a São Paulo criminal gang was released unharmed today after his station broadcast a message by the kidnappers denouncing prison conditions. Reporter Guilherme de Azevedo Portanova and technician Alexandre Coelho Calado of the São Paulo-based TV Globo network were seized on Saturday by members of…