Americas

2019

  
Road Town, in the British Virgin Islands, is seen on April 3, 2009. The territory's legislature recently passed a bill that imposes harsh penalties for online defamation. (AP/Todd VanSickle)

British Virgin Islands law to impose fines, jail terms for online defamation

Miami, December 23, 2019 — British Virgin Islands Governor Augustus Jaspert should reject cybercrime legislation recently approved by the territory’s legislature, or require revisions to the bill to protect press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Police officers are seen in front of a burning barricade in Valparaiso, Chile, on November 26, 2019. The Valparaiso headquarters of Chilean daily El Lider were vandalized and burned by protesters on November 26. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Headquarters of Chilean daily El Líder damaged in arson attack by protesters

On November 26, 2019, at around 8 p.m., unidentified demonstrators broke into the headquarters of Chilean newspaper El Líder, in the commune of San Antonio, Valparaíso, started fires, and vandalized the newspaper’s offices, according to news reports and a statement from the National Press Association, an independent association of Chilean media outlets.

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The Dropbox logo is seen in an illustration photo from July 28, 2017. The City of Fullerton, California, says two journalists violated computer crimes laws by accessing files hosted in a Dropbox folder without permission. (Reuters/Thomas White)

Fullerton journalists sued for “hacking” city’s open Dropbox folder

In a complaint filed in the California Superior Court of Orange County on October 24, 2019, the City of Fullerton, California accused a community blog and two contributors of violating anti-hacking laws for accessing confidential files city employees posted online, according to their lawyer Kelly Aviles and court documents reviewed by CPJ. Aviles told CPJ…

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Brazil's supreme court is seen in Brasilia on April 23, 2019. A judge in Goiás state recently delayed the trial of a journalist's murder because he said he had inadequate facilities. (Reuters/Adriano Machado)

Judge delays trial in 2012 killing of Brazilian radio journalist, citing lack of resources

Rio de Janeiro, December 20, 2019 — Brazilian authorities must quickly resume the trial of the alleged killers of radio journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira and ensure that justice is served without further delays, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A group of Venezuelan SEBIN security forces are seen in Caracas on May 16, 2018. SEBIN agents recently shut down two news outlets in a money laundering investigation. (AP/Fernando Llano)

Venezuelan intelligence services raid, shutter news outlets Venepress and Telecaribe

Bogotá, December 20, 2019 — Venezuelan authorities must immediately allow local news outlets Telecaribe and Venepress to resume their work informing the public and cease their harassment of independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2019. Journalists in El Salvador told CPJ that online harassment has intensified since Bukele came to power in June. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Salvadoran President Bukele’s anti-press rhetoric echoes Trump

Mariana Belloso, a Salvadoran journalist and radio presenter, was home after work with her family on June 30 when she was retweeted by the president, she told CPJ in October. Then the abuse began.

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer waits for pedestrians entering the United States on April 9, 2018 at the San Ysidro port of entry in California. Warrantless searches of devices belonging to journalists and other travelers at the border violate the U.S. constitution, a Massachusetts district court judge ruled in November. (Getty Images/AFP/Mario Tama)

Q&A: Isma’il Kushkush and Sophia Cope on U.S. court ruling against warrantless border search

Journalists crossing U.S. borders face a particular set of challenges, as CPJ has reported extensively. The U.S. government claims sweeping authority to interrogate travelers and search electronic devices without a warrant under what is known as the “border search exception.” CPJ has called this a chilling prospect for reporters in transit—especially those working with confidential…

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Flowers cover the coffin of Mexican journalist Jorge Celestino Ruiz Vazquez, who was killed in Veracruz in August. Ruiz is one of at least five journalists murdered in retaliation for their work in Mexico in 2019. (Reuters/Oscar Martinez)

Number of journalists killed falls sharply as reprisal murders hit record low

As wars subsided and a record low number of journalists were murdered in reprisal for reporting, the total number of journalists killed because of their work fell sharply in 2019. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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Flowers and crosses bear the names of journalists and human rights defenders murdered in the first three months since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office, in Mexico City in February 2019. At least two of the journalists murdered for their work in 2019 were enrolled in a safety protection mechanism. (AP/Rebecca Blackwell)

When it comes to protecting journalists, Mexico’s safety mechanism comes up short

Gildo Garza sighs when he speaks of the institution that is supposed to protect him. “I feel disappointed, depressed, desperate, and alone,” he said. “I no longer have any hope in a system that was supposed to help me build up a new life or get my old life back.”

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The headquarters of Brazilian television network Rede Globo is seen in Rio de Janeiro on May 3, 2018. Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella has barred Globo reporters from covering his press conferences. (Reuters/Pilar Olivares)

Rio mayor’s office bars Globo journalists from press conference

Rio de Janeiro, December 13, 2019 — Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella must allow reporters from all news outlets to cover his office’s press conferences, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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2019