Americas
2018
Mexican journalist gunned down in Chiapas
Mexico City, September 24, 2018–Mexican authorities must immediately undertake a rigorous and credible investigation into the killing of reporter Mario Leonel Gómez Sánchez in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Freelance reporter covering environmental activist’s murder trial threatened in Honduras
New York, September 19, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Honduran authorities to investigate threats against freelance journalist Nina Lakhani–who is in Honduras to cover the high-profile trial of eight men charged in the 2016 murder of indigenous environmental leader Berta Cáceres–and to ensure journalists are able to report safely from the country.
Venezuelan freelance photographer detained, sent to military prison
New York, September 7, 2018–Venezuelan authorities should immediately release and drop all charges against freelance photographer Jesus Medina Ezaine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in the capital Caracas on August 31 ordered Medina to military prison; he was detained August 29 after working on a reporting project at a hospital and…
CPJ calls on Mexico to fund journalist protection mechanism
CPJ is deeply concerned about the imminent gap in financing that threatens the operation of the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, and urges the Mexican federal government to take immediate action to guarantee continued and sufficient funding. The institution provides protective measures to over 700 journalists and human rights defenders.
Mexican cameraman killed in Quintana Roo
Mexico City, August 30, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Mexican authorities to undertake an immediate and credible investigation into the killing of Javier Enrique Rodríguez Valladares, a cameraman for a local television broadcaster based in Cancún, in the southern Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Rodríguez Valladares was shot by unknown assailants around 6:00 p.m.…
Nicaragua convicts two men in journalist’s killing in trial criticized as unfair
Bogotá, Colombia, August 29, 2018–A Nicaraguan court on August 27 found two men guilty in the shooting death of journalist Ángel Eduardo Gahona in a trial that the journalist’s widow, defense lawyers, and human rights groups characterized as flawed. CPJ today called on authorities to conduct a transparent investigation and trial to ensure that Gahona’s…
Nicaraguan government launches campaign of harassment against Channel 10
Bogotá, Colombia, August 24, 2018–The Nicaraguan government has launched a campaign of harassment against the independent TV station Channel 10, which has criticized President Daniel Ortega for ordering deadly attacks on anti-government protesters over the past four months, according to news reports.
Google complicity in Chinese censorship could endanger press freedom elsewhere
In 2010, after four years of offering Chinese users a heavily censored version of its search engine, Google decided it would no longer block search results at the request of the Chinese state. “Our objection is to those forces of totalitarianism,” Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, told The New York Times at the time, adding that…
Reporter threatened, home attacked in southern Brazil
São Paulo, August 18, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned an attack on Brazilian reporter Adenilson Miguel and called on police in the country’s Minas Gerais state to ensure Miguel’s safety and identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
Mastermind convicted in 1999 murder of Colombian journalist Jaime Garzón
Bogotá, Colombia, August 15, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the conviction and sentencing of the organizer of the 1999 murder of Colombian journalist, comedian, and peace activist Jaime Garzón, and expressed disappointment that the court did not consider Garzon’s work as a journalist in its decision.