In Mexico, four men convicted in 2004 murder
New York, April 7, 2008—Four men have been convicted and sentenced to 11 years apiece in the November 2004 murder of Mexican photographer Gregorio Rodríguez Hernández. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the convictions as an important step against impunity in attacks on the press. Judge Daniel Armenta Rentería convicted former Escuinapa Police Chief Abel…
Shots fired at journalist’s home in western Mexico
MARCH 21, 2008 Posted April 22, 2008 Javier Montes Camarena, El Diario de Colima ATTACKED Unidentified individuals fired several shots at Montes’ home in Manzanillo, a city in the western Mexican state of Colima. The journalist told CPJ that he believes the attack was retaliation for his criticism of the local government in the daily…
Mexico arrests cartel member with ties to shooting
New York, March 17, 2008—Mexican federal police arrested a member of the Arellano Félix drug cartel on Saturday on suspicion of involvement in the 1997 shooting of Zeta Editor Jesús J. Blancornelas. Federal police officers arrested Saúl Montes de Oca Morlett in the tourist city of San Felipe, Baja California, as he was getting ready…
Federal police detain, assault photographer in Veracruz
MEXICO: New York, February 25, 2008—Members of the Mexican Federal Preventive Police (PFP) detained and assaulted photographer Gabriel Huge Córdoba after he sought to cover a fatal Sunday afternoon car accident involving police in the eastern port city of Veracruz, the journalist said today. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Mexican federal authorities to…
CPJ alarmed by disappearance of reporter in Michoacán
CPJ alarmed by disappearance of reporter in Michoacán New York, February 15, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the disappearance of Mauricio Estrada Zamora, a crime reporter for the daily La Opinión de Apatzingán in the central Mexican state of Michoacán. Estrada, 38, was last seen on February 12 at approximately 11 p.m.,…
Attacks on the Press 2007: Americas Analysis
Preaching Without A ChoirBy Carlos LauríaAt June’s annual assembly of the organization of American states (OAS) in Panama, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged foreign ministers to send the group’s secretary-general, José Miguel Insulza, to investigate Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Frías’ decision to pull the plug on the country’s oldest private television station, RCTV.
Attacks on the Press 2007: Cuba
CUBA July 31 marked a year without Fidel Castro, whose health remained a “state secret” even though it was the biggest story of the year. Cuba continued to prove itself one of the worst reporting environments in the world as three foreign journalists were expelled from the island and 24 Cuban reporters languished in prison.
Attacks on the Press 2007: Mexico
MEXICO Mexican authorities failed again to vigorously pursue the perpetrators of violence against journalists, leaving reporters vulnerable to attacks and the news media resorting to self-censorship. Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for the press, CPJ research shows, with 13 journalists slain in direct relation to their work and another 14 killed under…