San Francisco police raid freelancer Bryan Carmody’s home
New York May 13, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a raid by San Francisco police on the home of freelance journalist Bryan Carmody, and called on authorities to immediately return electronic devices, documents, and other seized property.
Documentary filmmaker Mauricio Lezama shot and killed in Colombia
Bogotá, May 13, 2019 — Colombian authorities should conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation into the killing of documentary filmmaker Mauricio Lezama Rengifo and ensure those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Mexican anti-corruption news website MCCI hit with cyberattack
New York, May 10, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a cyberattack on Mexicanos Contra La Corrupción y Impunidad (MCCI), a Mexican nonprofit news outlet that publishes in-depth investigations into corruption in Mexico and Latin America.
Mexico’s press question president’s commitment to press advertising reform
When Andrés Manuel López Obrador won Mexico’s presidential elections last year with a promise to drastically cut the millions of dollars the government spends on press advertising each year, it appeared to signal the end to an opaque system that has been criticized as a way for governments to encourage favorable coverage.
Colombia sentences two ex-paramilitary fighters for 2000 attack on Jineth Bedoya
Miami, May 8, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the sentencing on May 6 of former paramilitary fighters Alejandro Cárdenas Orozco and Jesús Emiro Pereira Rivera for the kidnapping, rape, and torture of Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima in 2000.
Former Colombian President Uribe and allies file defamation suits against Daniel Coronell
New York, May 8, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by civil defamation lawsuits filed in the U.S. state of Florida against journalist Daniel Coronell by former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, now a senator, and his allies, which could have a chilling effect on reporting on the Colombian politician.
Telésforo Enríquez, founder of Mexican community radio station, shot dead in Oaxaca
Mexico City, May 6, 2019–Mexican authorities must immediately and transparently investigate the killing of journalist and political activist Telésforo Santiago Enríquez, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Enríquez was found shot dead the afternoon of May 2 just outside the city of Juchitán, in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, according to news reports.
López Obrador’s anti-press rhetoric leaves Mexico’s journalists feeling exposed
During his daily press conference on April 15, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told reporters, “If you go too far, you know what will happen.” López Obrador clarified his remarks the following day, saying he meant that the public would hold reporters who unfairly criticize the government to account. But in a country where…
Guatemala elections 2019: Journalist safety kit
Guatemala is scheduled to hold presidential and congressional elections on June 16. The Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas reported increased violence against the press during the country’s 2015 elections. Journalists have told CPJ they are being attacked and harassed, especially online, over their coverage of corruption, or reports on President Jimmy Morales and…
Challenges facing journalists trying to cover latest violence in Venezuela
The long-running political crisis in Venezuela escalated on April 30, 2019, after a civilian and military uprising was thwarted by the government of Nicolás Maduro, according to news reports. Opposition leaders Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo Lopez, accompanied by members of the armed forces, congregated on a highway in eastern Caracas and called upon the armed…