A ‘culture of silence’ threatens press freedom under El Salvador President Bukele
Nearly 80,000 people have been detained, and up to 200 may have died in state custody, since El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s declared a state of emergency in March 2022, temporarily suspending constitutional rights and civil liberties in the country in the name of fighting gang violence. Local journalists and human rights organizations have raised concerns that Bukele, who…
Mexican President López Obrador repeatedly criticizes news outlets and press freedom group over spyware coverage
Mexico City, May 11, 2023—Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador must stop making baseless criticisms of local news outlets and the international free expression organization Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Since March, López Obrador has sharply criticized Article 19, national investigative magazine Proceso, privately owned online news outlets Animal Político and…
For Mexican journalists, President López Obrador’s pledge to curb spyware rings hollow
“Practically nothing.” RíoDoce magazine editor Andrés Villarreal spoke with a sigh and a hint of resignation as he described what came of Mexico’s investigation into the attempted hacking of his cell phone. “The federal authorities never contacted me personally. They told us informally that it wasn’t them, but that’s it.” Over five years have passed…
At least 2 Mexican journalists targeted by Pegasus spyware since López Obrador took office
Mexico City, October 3, 2022 – In response to a joint report published Sunday that found Pegasus spyware infected the devices of two Mexican journalists and a human rights defender between 2019 and 2021, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “This new report definitively shows that Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador…
Mexican journalist Roberto Flores missing in Comitán
Mexico City, September 29, 2022 – Mexican authorities must immediately undertake a credible and exhaustive investigation into the disappearance of journalist Roberto Flores, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Flores, the founder and editor of Chiapas Denuncia YA, a Facebook page with 66,000 followers that publishes citizens’ reports about crime, security, and alleged government…
‘Watershed’ protests demand end to violence against journalists in Mexico
After reporter Maria Guadalupe Lourdes Maldonado López was shot and killed in her car outside her Tijuana home on Sunday, January 23, journalists in Mexico put out a call to action in group chats and across social media platforms. It was time to protest. Maldonado’s death was the third journalist killing in less than a…
Marcela Turati on the chilling implications of Mexico’s probe into her reporting
For more than a decade, Marcela Turati has painstakingly documented disappearances and mass graves in Mexico, cementing her reputation as one of the country’s foremost investigative reporters. But even with her knowledge of human rights abuses and corruption, she was shocked to learn that she has been under investigation by Mexican federal authorities for years….
Mexican reporter Maria Teresa Montaño abducted, robbed, and threatened in Toluca
Mexico City, August 19, 2021 – Mexican authorities must immediately investigate the abduction and robbery of journalist Maria Teresa Montaño Delgado and take all necessary steps to guarantee her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the afternoon of August 13, three unidentified men abducted Montaño, a freelance investigative reporter, as she attempted…
‘The Cartel Project’ investigates crimes against reporters in Mexico
Forbidden Stories—a network of journalists whose mission is to continue the work of reporters who are threatened, censored, or killed—yesterday published a new investigation into the murder of Mexican journalist Regina Martínez. The report, part of five-part series about the killings of reporters in Mexico, lays bare serious flaws in the investigation in a context…
