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,…
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.
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…
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.
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.
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…
Venezuela’s national assembly reopens to the press after five-year ban
When security guards opened the doors to Venezuela’s colonial-era National Assembly building last Wednesday, I was among the dozens of reporters who swarmed inside. Even though the day’s legislative session would not be called to order for another three hours, every seat in the press galley, located on the second-floor balcony overlooking the chamber, was…
Inter-American Human Rights System, campaigns against defamation laws keep journalists from jail in Americas
When a prison guard told Ángel Santiesteban Prats that he would be released from jail on a scorching summer day in July, the Cuban independent writer and blogger decided to ignore him, brushing off the news as a cruel joke. By then, Santiesteban had already spent two years and five months in prison, half of…
Regional court orders Venezuela to reinstate RCTV on the air
New York, September 8, 2015–A recent ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordering Venezuela to reinstate the broadcasting license of Radio Caracas Television, or RCTV, sets an important precedent for freedom of expression in the hemisphere, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. RCTV has been confined to cable and satellite since being…