Americas

  
A shadow report on freedom of expression and press freedom in Venezuela points to a worsening hostility against the independent press. (Photo: Reuters/Francesco Spotorno)

CPJ, partners submit report to the UN on Venezuela UPR

The Committee to Protect Journalists and other six international and local organizations submitted to the United Nations a report on freedom of expressions and press freedom in Venezuela that will be examined during the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), at the 54th session of the UPR Working Group, scheduled for January–February 2027….

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Stein was sued for $1 million earlier this year for his reporting on the former director of the Office of Medical Services at the Central Intelligence Agency. (Photo: Courtesy of Jeff Stein)

CPJ welcomes dismissal of defamation lawsuit against journalist Jeff Stein

Miami, August 10, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit against investigative journalist Jeff Stein, editor of the SpyTalk podcast on Substack. Stein was sued for $1 million earlier this year by Keith Bass, the assistant secretary of War for Health Affairs and former director of the Office of Medical Services at…

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Journalists (left to right) Alejandro Leyva Aguilar,Alex Serna, Carlos Castro, Josué Martínez, Luis Ángel López, and Roxana Guzmán were killed in Mexico this year. (Image: CPJ)

Amid spike in journalist killings in Mexico, CPJ urges federalizing cases to end impunity

Six journalists have been murdered in Mexico this year, five of them in just over two months, marking one of the deadliest spikes in violence against journalists that CPJ has documented in over a decade. Despite several organized calls for justice in the Mexican states where the reporters were killed, government authorities have not addressed…

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Yeison Rojas of the TV news program TeleAntioquia Noticias and Darien TV was among four journalists to receive threats from members of the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. (Photo: Courtesy of Yeison Rojas)

4 local journalists threatened by Colombia’s largest drug-trafficking group

Bogotá, August 4, 2026—Colombian authorities must swiftly investigate threats made by an illegal armed group against regional journalists, bring those responsible to justice, and guarantee the safety of the reporters, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday. On July 31, four journalists in the northern city of Apartadó were threatened by members of the Gaitanista…

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Subpoenas were issued in July to several New York Times journalists requesting that they testify “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law” around their reporting on President Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One. (Photo: Reuters/Gary Hershorn)

How subpoenas against journalists threaten press freedom

Journalists rely on confidential sources to uncover information that governments, corporations, and powerful individuals often want to keep hidden. When authorities subpoena journalists in attempts to compel them to reveal their reporting sources, they undermine one of the core functions of a free press in a democracy. The U.S. Department of Justice under the second…

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Cuban flags fly beside the Interests Section Office of the United States (USINT), in Havana two days after the 57th anniversary of the start of the Cuban revolution July 28, 2010. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA - Tags: POLITICS)

CPJ calls on Cuban government to free media from state control

Miami, Aug. 1, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is disappointed that the Cuban government has not seen it fit to include independent media on its new list of professional activities freed from state control among economic reforms, according to news reports. On Wednesday, the government announced reforms allowing private enterprise in economic sectors such as transport and energy, as…

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An appeals court in the Pacific coast province of Huaura upheld a lower court decision that found journalist Carlos Yofré López guilty of civil defamation. (Photo: Courtesy Carlos Yofré López)

Peruvian journalist sued by judge for defamation, ordered to pay a $14,500 fine

Bogotá, July 28, 2026—Peruvian judicial authorities must stop harassing journalist Carlos Yofré López for an old case and allow reporters to do their jobs without fear of unfounded defamation lawsuits, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. On July 20, an appeals court in the Pacific coast province of Huaura upheld a lower court decision that found…

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Chico Melo, director of independent media group Integração, was attacked by four armed individuals after they broke into his bedroom on July 22. (Screenshot: The Acre Gazette/Instagram)

Brazilian journalist is assaulted, threatened after alleged public funds embezzlement exposé

São Paulo, July 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the reported assault and threatsagainst Brazilian journalist Chico Melo, director of independent media group Integração, at Cruzeiro do Sul, in the northern state of Acre, and calls on authorities to swiftly and comprehensively investigate the attack and bring those responsible to account. Melo, 54, was…

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U.S. President Donald Trump looks on, as he makes an announcement on American nuclear innovation in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

CPJ, partners urge White House Correspondents’ Association to publicly defend press freedom at correspondents’ dinner

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, and other organizations in a joint message urging the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) to reaffirm its commitment to the First Amendment at its rescheduled correspondents’ dinner on…

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Austin Llerandi (Photo: Courtesy of ICLEP)

Cuban journalist threatened, interrogated by state security over newsletter

Miami, July 21—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls on the Cuban government to end its harassment of journalist Austin Llerandi of Amanecer Habanero, a non-state media newsletter. Llerandi told CPJ that state security agents came looking for him at his father’s house on July 13 in Havana, demonstrating invasive knowledge of his personal life…

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