Álvaro Navarro on covering COVID-19 in Nicaragua, Central America’s center of virus denial
Over the last two years–since protests and a government crackdown began in April 2018—Nicaraguan journalist Álvaro Navarro and his outlet, news website Artículo 66, have been a vital source of information for people looking for alternatives to the government’s discourse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his team have been on the frontlines, reporting on…
Nicaragua: A crackdown in four parts
When protests erupted in Nicaragua in April last year, it was clear from the beginning that the country’s media landscape would be a battleground. One day into the unrest, the government ordered cable providers to cut the signals of at least five TV channels. By the end of the year, CPJ had documented attacks, arrests,…
Locked in ‘small graves’: Nicaraguan journalists Mora and Pineda describe their ordeal
Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda were arrested on December 21, 2018, in the Managua newsroom of 100% Noticias and spent 172 days in prison facing charges of “inciting violence and hate” and “promoting terrorism.” The two journalists spoke to CPJ after their June 11 release. They will receive CPJ’s 2019 International Press Freedom Award in…
CPJ, RSF call on Nicaragua to release two journalists held on terrorism charges
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders today condemned the detention of two independent journalists in Nicaragua, and called on Nicaraguan authorities to immediately release them and drop all charges against them.
Long silence from Nicaragua’s president as first lady keeps press at arm’s length
It’s been nearly 3,000 days since Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega last held a news conference, according to the opposition newspaper La Prensa. But when journalists complain about the lack of access to Ortega they often direct their ire not at the president but at the first lady, Rosario Murillo.
Reporters covering Nicaragua waterway project obstructed by lack of information
When Nicaragua began preliminary work on an interoceanic waterway designed to handle ships too big for the Panama Canal, some of the foreign correspondents who had flown in to cover the December groundbreaking were left high and dry.
CPJ testimony: Press freedom in the Americas
CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, saying that while democracies are prevalent in Latin America, the press continues to operate with few institutional protections. This statement was submitted into the record on Monday.