Americas

  
Patricia Ramírez González

Mexican journalist Paty Bunbury shot dead in Colima, 2nd killed in less than 24 hours

Mexico City, October 31, 2024—Mexican authorities must immediately and transparently investigate Wednesday’s killing of journalist Patricia Ramírez González, also known as Paty Bunbury, in the city of Colima, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.  Ramírez, an entertainment reporter for the privately owned Hechos newspaper, was the second Mexican journalist killed in less than 24…

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Ahead of the US election, we delivered safety training to over 700 journalists. Here’s what the press must know to keep safe.

The November 2024 U.S. presidential election will take place after years of an increasingly polarized political climate in the country. This election comes after two previous contentious presidential election cycles, amid high levels of distrust in the media and a recent history of journalists being arrested, assaulted, and attacked in-person and online, including at protests….

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Reporter Mauricio Cruz Solís is seen in a video image shortly before he was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the state of Michoacán, in southwestern Mexico, on October 29, 2024. (Screenshot: El Economista TV/YouTube)

Mexican reporter shot dead moments after interviewing mayor

Mexico City, October 30, 2024—Unidentified assaults shot and killed journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, October 29, in Urupan, a city in the southwestern state of Michoacán, moments after he interviewed Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo about a recent local market fire.  “The brutal and brazen killing of journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís…

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Police inspect the scene of the shooting at the offices of newspaper El Debate in Culiacán, Mexico, on October 18, 2024

Assailants shoot at El Debate newspaper office in Mexico

Mexico City, October 18, 2024—CPJ is highly concerned after unidentified attackers fired at the offices of the El Debate newspaper at 11 p.m. on October 17, in Culiacán, the capital of the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa. No one was hurt; the building’s facade, two outlet cars, and two staff members’ personal vehicles were damaged…

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Guatemala's José Rubén Zamora, founder of El Periodico newspaper, waits in handcuffs ahead of a court hearing in Guatemala City on August 26.

CPJ, partners demand a fair hearing for Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora

The Committee to Protect Journalist and 18 other civil society organizations called on Guatemalan authorities to respect the independence of the judiciary at an October 18 hearing over the release of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora from pre-trial detention. The statement highlights a “deeply troubling trend” of criminalizing and intimidating human rights defenders, including Judge Rodolfo…

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Paraguay's President Santiago Peña addresses the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024.

Press freedom in Paraguay threatened by proposed law to control nonprofits

São Paulo, October 17, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Paraguayan President Santiago Peña to reject a law that would impose burdensome restrictions on nonprofit news outlets and threaten their independence. On October 9, Paraguay’s Congress approved the Establishing Control, Transparency, and Accountability of Non-Profit Organizations Act and passed it to Peña, who has…

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In this file image, Robert Telles (right), a former Clark County public administrator charged in the murder of investigative journalist Jeff German, listens to closing arguments during his murder trial in Las Vegas, on August 26, 2024.

CPJ welcomes sentencing of killer of Las Vegas journalist Jeff German

Washington, D.C., October 16, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the 28-year sentence given to former politician Robert Telles on Wednesday for stabbing to death Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German. “The sentencing of Robert Telles marks a significant milestone in the quest for justice. Although the jailing of Telles cannot undo Jeff German’s murder,…

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SenseTime

CPJ, partners comment on U.S. Commerce Department’s proposed rules on surveillance technology export controls

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined eight human rights and digital rights organizations on October 15 to provide comments to the U.S. Commerce Department in response to its proposed rules to strengthen surveillance technology export regulations. The joint comments assess and offer recommendations for the Commerce Department to help curb the proliferation of such surveillance…

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El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RC287AA120O6

A ‘culture of silence’ threatens press freedom under El Salvador President Bukele 

Nearly 80,000 people have been detained, and up to 200 may have died in state custody, since El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s declared a state of emergency in March 2022, temporarily suspending constitutional rights and civil liberties in the country in the name of fighting gang violence. Local journalists and human rights organizations have raised concerns that Bukele, who…

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Several journalists flee Cuba after state agents question, pressure at least 8

Miami, October 11, 2024—CPJ is alarmed by reports that since mid-September, Cuban state security agents questioned at least eight journalists and media workers from non-state media outlets, many in connection to alleged crimes against the state, leading several to flee the country.  “The Cuban government appears to be engaged in a campaign of harassment and…

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