Americas

  

Journalist Josh Kruger shot, killed in Philadelphia

New York, October 2, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for police to investigate the motive for the fatal shooting of freelance journalist Josh Kruger near his Philadelphia home on Monday. “We are deeply disturbed by the killing of freelance journalist Josh Kruger and extend our condolences to his colleagues and loved ones,” said…

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CPJ calls for accountability after Chilean journalist is shot covering military coup protest  

São Paulo, September 21, 2023–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Chilean authorities to investigate and hold accountable those who shot Javier Barría, a camera operator with privately owned news outlet MegaMedia, while he covered a protest on the anniversary of the country’s 1973 military coup. On September 11, Barría was working in the Villa…

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‘Network abuse’: Attacks on 3 media sites involved services of US, UK firms

Cyberattackers used services of technology companies based in the U.S. and U.K. to target media sites from Somalia, Kosovo, and Turkmenistan, Qurium, a nonprofit hosting the sites, said Tuesday. Earlier this month, CPJ reported on how cyberattackers used a Nebraska company, RayoByte, in attempts to knock those same media sites offline, as well as at…

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CPJ welcomes 27.5-year sentence for murder of Mexican reporter Israel Vázquez

Mexico City, September 18, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday welcomed the 27-and-a-half-year sentence issued for the 2020 murder of Mexican reporter Israel Vázquez Rangel and urged authorities to redouble their efforts to protect journalists and prosecute their attackers. On Thursday, September 14, a federal judge in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato sentenced…

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Venezuelan authorities detain, charge environmental journalist Luis Alejandro Acosta

Editor’s note: The Venezuela Press Workers Union posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on September 21, that government authorities placed journalist Luis Alejandro Acosta on probation with a 15-day reporting schedule, a ban on publishing information about his arrest, and the obligation to request permission to leave the country. Bogotá, September 14, 2023—Venezuelan authorities must immediately…

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Estefanía Colmenares, editor of Colombia's La Opinión newspaper, speaks into a microphone

Colombian editor Estefanía Colmenares receives death threats after political exposé

Bogotá, September 11, 2023—Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate a death threat against journalist Estefanía Colmenares, ensure her safety, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On September 6, Colmenares, editor of the independent La Opinión newspaper in the northern city of Cúcuta, received a threat from an unidentified number…

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Brazilian police threaten Dutch and Colombian journalists in the Amazon

In February 2023, Dutch journalist Bram Ebus, Colombian videographer Andrés Cardona, and Colombian photographer Alex Rufino, were threatened by the military police of Japurá in the Brazilian state of Amazonas while reporting on illegal mining in the Amazon region as part of Amazon Underworld, an investigative project on crime and corruption in the region.      …

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Cyberattackers used US company RayoByte in efforts to crash media sites

The cyberattack against the Somali Journalists Syndicate could not have come at a worse time. A distributed denial-of-service attack, known by its acronym DDoS, flooded the local press freedom group’s website with traffic in early August and knocked it offline. Days later, authorities arrested SJS staff member and Kaab TV editor Mohamed Ibrahim Osman Bulbul…

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Reporters in Haiti flee gang violence surge in capital’s Carrefour Feuilles neighborhood

Miami, September 6, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday expressed grave concern that the rapidly deteriorating situation in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince could put journalists at greater risk than other civilians if they are singled out for their work documenting the situation on the ground. CPJ has learned that at least five reporters have fled…

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Haitian radio journalist’s home destroyed in arson attack

Miami, August 31, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the August 23 arson attack on the home of radio reporter Arnold Junior Pierre and calls on Haitian authorities to restore order to the country so journalists can do their jobs without fear of retaliation.  On August 23, unidentified armed individuals set fire to Pierre’s home…

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