Americas

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined over 50 news and press freedom organizations in urging United States senators to support the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (PRESS Act). The bill would create a federal shield safeguarding reporter-source confidentiality and prevent government access to unreported source material.  The letter, authored by the Reporters Committee for…

Miami, June 6, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Cuban journalist Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca, but is deeply concerned he was forced into exile, and calls on Cuban authorities to allow reporters to work freely in the country without fear of reprisal.  Valle left Cuba for the United States on Wednesday, June…

Miami, June 3, 2024– The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Haiti’s Superior Council of the Judiciary, the country’s judiciary oversight body, to provide judge Jean Michelet Séide with the necessary resources and protections to conclude his investigation into the October 2022 murder of radio journalist Garry Tesse.  Last month, the council appointed Séide to take over the case…

Mexico City, May 30, 2024—Uruguayan authorities should not approve a proposed broadcast law passed by the Senate and should ensure that all media legislation is discussed broadly, including with civil society organizations and journalist representatives, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On May 14, the Uruguayan Senate approved the proposed “Law of Audiovisual Content…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined more than 85 journalism and civil society organizations and 35 attorneys and law professors in urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to schedule a markup of the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (PRESS Act) as soon as possible so that it can be considered by the full Senate…

São Paulo, May 24, 2024—A decision by Brazil’s top court to recognize the judicial harassment of journalists and to introduce procedures to help prevent courts being misused to intimidate and silence the media is a welcome move towards safeguarding press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On May 22, the Supreme Court unanimously…

Mexico City, May 23, 2024 — Mexican authorities must immediately investigate death threats directed at reporter Alberto Amaro Jordán, his family, and his bodyguards and take steps to guarantee his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Unknown individuals driving a red truck passed by the residence of Amaro, founder and editor of Tlaxcala…

Nicaraguan police detained Orlando Chávez, the director of the independent news radio show “El Metropolitano,” along with his brother and sister, after raiding their home on May 19, 2024, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa. News reports said police arrested the journalist’s siblings, Obed and Merary Chávez, for alleged obstruction and confiscated their phones….

Bogotá, May 21, 2024—Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate the death threat received by journalist Edward Álvarez, ensure his safety, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Álvarez, a reporter for the independent online news outlet La Chiva de Urabá in the northern city of Apartadó, received a death threat…

Update: A Guatemalan court ordered on May 15 that José Rubén Zamora be released to house arrest to await trial in the first of three cases against him. He was not immediately released as decisions remained pending in the other two cases.  Mexico City, May 14, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls upon Guatemalan authorities…