Venezuela

2016

  

Turkey’s crackdown propels number of journalists in jail worldwide to record high

At least 81 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, all of them facing anti-state charges, in the wake of an unprecedented crackdown that has included the shuttering of more than 100 news outlets. The 259 journalists in jail worldwide is the highest number recorded since 1990. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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Venezuelan security forces in riot gear stand in front of the National Assembly in Caracas, October 27, 2016. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

Journalists covering Venezuela tension face violence, obstruction

Bogotá, Colombia, October 27, 2016–Journalists trying to cover rising political tensions in Venezuela have been obstructed and have come under attack, including by Venezuelan security forces and immigration officials, according to press freedom groups and news reports.

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Opposition supporters take part in a mass rally in Caracas, September 1, 2016 (AP/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan journalist arrested after reporting on protest

Bogotá, Colombia, September 7, 2016–Venezuelan authorities should immediately release online and radio journalist Braulio Jatar Alonso, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Domestic intelligence officers detained Jatar on September 3, a day after he reported on an anti-government protest.

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International journalists denied entry to Venezuela before September 1 protest

New York, August 31, 2016–Authorities in Venezuela denied entry to at least six journalists, including CPJ Andes correspondent John Otis, who were traveling to the country to cover a protest tomorrow demanding a recall referendum on President Nicolás Maduro. Authorities said the journalists did not have the proper documentation to enter the country to work,…

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The damaged offices of El Nacional. Homemade explosives and excrement were thrown at the paper's Caracas offices this week. (El Nacional)

Newspaper offices shot at and vandalized in Venezuela

New York, August 31, 2016–Authorities should investigate incidents of vandalism of Venezuelan newspaper offices and do everything in their power to ensure that journalists can work without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Security forces and residents clash during a protest over food shortages in Caracas on June 2. Several journalists were attacked during the protest. (AFP/Juan Barreto)

Journalists attacked, equipment stolen during protests in Caracas

New York, June 3, 2016–Several journalists were attacked and some had equipment stolen while covering protests in Caracas Thursday, according to news outlets and a local freedom of expression group. Some of the journalists who were attacked said that the Venezuelan National Guard did not intervene to prevent the attacks and in one case, forced…

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The control room of Venezuelan station Globovisión. Since congressional elections in December, the news outlet has taken a tougher stance in its coverage. (AFP/Miguel Gutierrez)

After Venezuelan elections, Globovisión shows more defiant stance

When Venezuela’s opposition broke the ruling party’s 17-year stranglehold on power by winning control of congress in December, the political earthquake created editorial aftershocks at the 24-hour news station Globovisión.

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Venezuelan government newsprint squeeze forces newspaper to stop printing

Bogotá, March 18, 2016 – Blaming the refusal of the government to sell it newsprint, the independent Venezuelan daily El Carabobeño printed its final edition on Thursday, according to news reports. The newspaper has published for 82 years and was one of the few independent media outlets in Valencia, the capital of Carabobo state.

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Venezuelan editor sentenced to 4 years in prison for criminal defamation

Bogotá, Colombia, March 11, 2016–A Venezuelan judge today sentenced David Natera Febres, the editor of an independent newspaper that investigated corruption at a state-run mining company, to four years in prison for criminal defamation, according to news reports.

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Editor Miguel Henrique Otero, pictured in El Nacional's Caracas office in 2010, has been managing the paper from exile after being accused of defamation. (AP/Fernando Llano)

Last critic standing: How El Nacional defies challenges to keep publishing

Patricia Spadaro, news editor at the Caracas daily El Nacional, faces daunting challenges in putting out the newspaper. Her boss, El Nacional’s president and editor Miguel Henrique Otero, has been living in exile since May 2015 after a top government official accused him of defamation. Amid the country’s deep economic crisis, half of Spadaro’s reporters…

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2016