Chile / Americas

  
Chilean newspapers are sold in Santiago, on October 20, 2019. Masked attackers in January broke into the offices of Chilean paper El Mercurio de Antofagasta, damaged equipment and set fires. (AFP/Martin Bernetti)

Masked attackers ransack Chilean newspaper, break equipment and set fires

Miami, January 16, 2020—Chilean authorities should immediately investigate an attack on the daily newspaper El Mercurio de Antofagasta and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Masked men broke into the newspaper’s headquarters in Antofagasta, a city in northern Chile, on January 13, damaging several offices, stealing equipment, and setting…

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Police officers are seen in front of a burning barricade in Valparaiso, Chile, on November 26, 2019. The Valparaiso headquarters of Chilean daily El Lider were vandalized and burned by protesters on November 26. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Headquarters of Chilean daily El Líder damaged in arson attack by protesters

On November 26, 2019, at around 8 p.m., unidentified demonstrators broke into the headquarters of Chilean newspaper El Líder, in the commune of San Antonio, Valparaíso, started fires, and vandalized the newspaper’s offices, according to news reports and a statement from the National Press Association, an independent association of Chilean media outlets.

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Police are seen in Santiago, Chile, on November 6, 2019. Police are investigating the recent killing of journalist Albertina Martínez Burgos in Santiago. (Reuters/Jorge Silva)

Chilean journalist Albertina Martínez Burgos found dead in Santiago

Miami, November 26, 2019 — Chilean authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of journalist Albertina Martínez Burgos, determine if the attack was related to her work, and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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The office of newspaper El Mercurio de Valparaiso is seen after an arson attack in Valparaiso, Chile, on October 19, 2019. (Reuters/Rodrigo Garrido)

Demonstrators set fire to El Mercurio de Valparaíso newspaper office in Chile

On October 19, 2019, at around 8 pm, demonstrators broke into the headquarters of Chilean newspaper El Mercurio de Valparaíso and started a fire that damaged the newspaper’s offices and the offices of La Estrella de Valparaíso, a daily owned by the El Mercurio conglomerate, according to news reports and a report by El Mercurio…

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Newspapers are sold on a sidewalk in Santiago in March 2018. Chile’s army allegedly ordered a surveillance operation against the investigative journalist Mauricio Weibel Barahona in 2016. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)

Chile accused of spying on investigative journalist Mauricio Weibel

Miami, August 15, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today over reports that Chile’s army allegedly ordered a surveillance operation against the investigative journalist Mauricio Weibel Barahona in 2016, when he was researching claims of misconduct in the armed forces.

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Newspapers are seen lying on the pavement in Santiago, Chile, on March 5, 2018. A Chilean journalist is facing jail time on criminal defamation charges if convicted in a court date set for August 2018. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)

Chilean reporter could face jail time on criminal defamation charges

New York, July 27, 2018–Chilean authorities should immediately drop all criminal proceedings against a journalist charged with defamation, and lawmakers should act swiftly to repeal all criminal defamation laws, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalist, Javier Ignacio Rebolledo Escobar, could face up to three years in prison if convicted next month.

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Airplanes fly in formation in Santiago, Chile on March 3, 2017. The independent Santiago-based Center for Investigative Journalism on March 7 reported that Chilean police intercepted calls, as well as WhatsApp and Telegrammessages, between five journalists and their sources. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)

Chilean police accused of spying on journalists

Bogotá, March 12, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed its concern about reports that Chilean police spied on reporters as part of an intelligence operation in the southern La Araucanía region.

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Criminal defamation suits in Peru and Chile could have chilling effect

New York, June 3, 2016 — Two criminal defamation suits filed against journalists by the president of Chile and a Peruvian governor could have a chilling effect on the press in both South American countries, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Foreign Minister of Ecuador Ricardo Patiño speaks about human rights during the Organization of American States general assembly in Washington, D.C., on March 22. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

At OAS, a victory for human rights and free expression

By reaffirming the autonomy and independence of the regional human rights system and rejecting attempts to neutralize the work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and its special rapporteur for freedom of expression, the Organization of American States (OAS) chose last week to discard proposals that would have made citizens throughout the hemisphere…

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CPJ urges OAS not to weaken human rights system

Dear OAS Ministers of Foreign Affairs: Ahead of the assembly of the Organization of American States on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists urges you to oppose any attempts to debilitate the regional human rights system. The failure of member states to preserve the autonomy and independence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its special rapporteur on freedom of expression would make citizens throughout the hemisphere more vulnerable to human rights violations and represent a blow to democracy in the Americas.

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