Ecuadoran TV journalist receives mail bomb
New York, February 17, 2017–The Ecuadoran National Police should swiftly bring to justice whoever sent award-winning TV journalist Janet Hinostroza a makeshift explosive device, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The attempted attack took place days before general elections scheduled for February 19.
Venezuela suspends CNN en Español broadcasts
New York, February 15, 2017–Venezuela’s state telecommunications regulator Conatel today ordered transmissions of CNN en Español to be suspended in the country, according to reports. A statement from the regulator said that Conatel was initiating administrative proceedings against the Spanish-language channel of CNN, which it said distorted the truth and “attack[ed] the peace and democratic…
Two radio journalists shot and killed during live broadcast in the Dominican Republic
New York, February 15, 2017 — Authorities in the Dominican Republic should establish a motive in the murder of radio journalists Luis Manuel Medina and Leónidas Martínez and prosecute all those responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The two radio journalists were shot and killed yesterday during a Facebook Live broadcast at the…
O Globo and Folha de S.Paulo ordered to remove reports about Brazil’s First Lady
São Paulo, February 15, 2017–A judge ordered two of Brazil’s biggest national dailies, Folha de S.Paulo and O Globo, to remove stories from their websites about a court case of a hacker convicted of attempted blackmail of Brazil’s first lady, Marcela Temer, according to reports in both papers.
CPJ calls on Venezuela to stop obstructing the foreign press
São Paulo, February 13, 2017–Two Brazilian journalists investigating a continent-wide corruption ring were detained over the weekend in Venezuela, according to press reports. Separately, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced at a rally that he wanted CNN out of the country and accused the network of spreading “fake news,” other outlets reported.
Assailants try to cut out Peruvian journalist’s tongue
New York, February 8, 2017–Peruvian authorities should swiftly bring to justice all those responsible for a brutal attack against broadcast journalist Marco Bonifacio Sánchez, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Unidentified assailants tried to cut off the journalist’s tongue as he walked home in the northern Peruvian town of Cajamarca late in the night…
Shots fired at Colombian journalist
Unidentified men riding a motorcycle on January 27, 2017, fired gunshots at Edwin Montiel, news director of the radio station Frontera Stereo, in the northern Colombian city of Maicao, according to news reports. Montiel, who often reports on criminal gangs and smuggling in Maicao, a town located near the Venezuelan border, was unhurt in the…
Surveillance of journalists and court orders puts Canada’s press freedom at risk
On February 6, VICE News reporter Ben Makuch is due to appear in court to appeal an order requesting that he hand over details of his communication with a source. The hearing comes ahead of a day of action being planned in Canada for February 25, when press freedom and privacy activists are due to…
CPJ Safety Advisory: 2017 US executive order on immigration
On Friday January 27, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order making significant changes to the country’s immigration system. In the week since the order was issued, there has been great uncertainty about how to interpret the changes and how these are being implemented by the U.S. agencies charged with immigration and border…