Americas

  
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is recognized as President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington D.C. on April 2, 2025. CPJ and 27 other organizations wrote to Noem expressing concern after reports that federal officials may have violated the First Amendment rights of journalists covering protests in Los Angeles, California, in June 2025. (Photo: AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

CPJ, others urge restraint after federal officers injure journalists covering Los Angeles protests 

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday joined 27 press and civil society organizations in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressing alarm that federal officials might have violated the First Amendment rights of journalists covering recent protests in Los Angeles, California, which started following immigration raids in the city. The…

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Motorcyclists shot and killed journalist Javier Hércules on May 31, 2025, as he drove his taxi in the western Honduran department of Copán. (Screenshot: ICN Digital/YouTube)

CPJ, partners condemn state violence against the press in Honduras

CPJ and other six press freedom groups launched a joint statement expressing deep concern over recent attacks against journalists and media outlets in Honduras, including Salvadoran journalist Javier Antonio Hércules Salinas’ June 1 killing and the judicial criminalization of at least 12 media outlets facing ongoing legal complaints with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.  Statement signatories have also submitted…

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Screenshot- human rights defender Eduardo Torres (Screenshot: NTN24/YouTube)

CPJ calls on Venezuelan government to release human rights defender

CPJ and 24 other international press freedom groups, led by IFEX, signed an open letter urging the Venezuelan government to immediately release lawyer and human rights defender Eduardo Torres, a member of the Venezuelan Program for Human Rights Education-Action. Government officials confirmed that Torres was detained May 13 but have since provided no information on…

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Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi, of 9News, is hit by a rubber bullet on Sunday while covering protests in Los Angeles. (Screenshot: 9News-ITV News/You Tube)

Law enforcement injure multiple journalists, others assaulted while covering Los Angeles protests

Washington, D.C., June 9, 2025—Law enforcement in Los Angeles, California, shot non-lethal rounds that struck multiple reporters while they covered protests that began on Friday, June 6, and escalated over the weekend following immigration raids. More than 20 others were reported to have been assaulted or obstructed. President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members to the state, against California Governor Gavin Newsom’s and…

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Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

CPJ signs manifesto remembering 3rd anniversary of Dom Phillips killing

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined other 49 civil society organizations and journalists in a manifesto organized by the Javari Valley Indigenous People Union (UNIVAJA) to remember the third anniversary of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira killings on June 5, 2022, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Issued on World Environment…

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Motorcyclists shot and killed journalist Javier Hércules on May 31, 2025, as he drove his taxi in the western Honduran department of Copán. (Screenshot: ICN Digital/YouTube)

Salvadoran organized crime reporter shot dead in Honduras 

Mexico City, June 4, 2025—Honduran authorities must conduct a transparent and credible investigation into the killing of Salvadoran journalist Javier Hércules and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the evening of May 31, Hércules, who also worked as a taxi driver, was shot and killed by two…

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Óscar Martínez, editor-in-chief of the Salvadoran outlet El Faro, and nine other journalists left El Salvador after publishing a report alleging ties between President Nayib Bukele and criminal groups. (Photo: Courtesy of Óscar Martínez)

‘We know what’s coming: exile or prison’ – El Faro’s Óscar Martínez on surviving Bukele’s crackdown

Journalists at El Faro knew the risks when they published a series of interviews with gang members alleging long-standing ties between Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and criminal groups. They didn’t know how quickly the crackdown would escalate. Within days of publication last month, sources close to El Salvador’s attorney general’s office warned that arrest warrants…

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Nicaraguan lawmakers

CPJ, partners warn El Salvador, Nicaragua legislation could harm press freedom

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 21 other international and local press freedom organizations in a joint statement Friday rejecting laws approved in El Salvador and Nicaragua that could severely affect press freedom, freedom of expression, and access to information in those countries. On May 16, Nicaraguan lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment that allows the…

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El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly

Salvadoran congress approves ‘foreign agents’ law that threatens press freedom

Mexico City, May 30, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday called on El Salvador to repeal a newly enacted “foreign agents” law that poses a serious threat to press freedom by targeting media outlets, nonprofit organizations, and individual journalists who receive international funding. “President Nayib Bukele’s foreign agents law is a blatant move to…

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Investigative journalist Héctor de Mauleón was ordered on May 15, 2025, to take down a column that mentioned corruption allegations against a female judicial candidate. (Screenshot: YouTube/Latinus)

Female politicians use meritless lawsuits to censor journalists in Mexico, lawyer says

Mexico City, May 29, 2025—Mexican journalist Héctor de Mauleón will be watching Sunday’s historic judicial elections with interest — not simply because June 1 marks the first time that Mexicans get to vote for their judges but also because one of the candidates has barred him from reporting critically about her. On May 15, the…

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