Americas

São Paulo, May 30, 2019 — Authorities in Rio de Janeiro must make every effort to find and prosecute those responsible for the killing of journalist Robson Giorno, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Mexico City, May 24, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment yesterday of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The administration of President Donald Trump disclosed 17 charges against Assange under the Espionage Act, relating to his receipt and publication of classified military documents and diplomatic cables in 2010…

New York, May 23, 2019–The Trump administration today disclosed 17 new criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act for unlawfully obtaining and disclosing national defense information.

Miami, May 22, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Colombian authorities to ensure the safety of photojournalist Federico Ríos, who was forced to flee his country after being harassed online over comments by lawmakers.

New York, May 21, 2019–Venezuelan authorities should immediately release Jesús Medina, who they have arbitrarily imprisoned because of his reporting for nearly nine months, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Human Rights Watch said today.

Miami, May 20, 2019– The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Colombian lawmakers to cease their harassment of New York Times Andes Bureau Chief Nicholas Casey and local press freedom organization, Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), and to ensure that journalists can report safely in the country.

A civil defamation lawsuit filed in a U.S. court by former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez against journalist Daniel Coronell is the latest broadside in a long and bitter dispute pitting one of Colombia’s most powerful politicians against an investigative reporter.

Mexico City, May 17, 2019–Mexican authorities must immediately undertake a credible and transparent investigation into the killing of Francisco Romero Díaz, a reporter who was shot dead yesterday in Playa del Carmen, a beachside resort in the southern Mexican state of Quintana Roo, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On May 8, 2019, a gunman shot and injured camera operator René Pérez while the journalist was covering a protest march in Cuernavaca, the capital of Mexico’s southern Morelos state, according to news reports. A local businessman and a union leader, the gunman’s targets, were killed in the attack, according to those reports.

A year after disputed national elections in Venezuela, and with access to information growing ever-scarcer, the country remains in a political and economic crisis. Conditions for the press have deteriorated further since January, when Juan Guaidó, the head of the opposition-led national assembly, declared himself interim president.