Hopeless, a sister visits her imprisoned brother in Havana
Graciela González-Degard is 72 years old. She has salt-and-pepper hair, long elegant hands, soft manners reminiscent of another era, and a bad knee that she blames on age. Once a Catholic nun, Graciela moved to the United States from Havana in the 1960s and now lives in New York with her husband. She teaches children…
Controversy grows after assault in Venezuela
On August 15, Caracas authorities arrested Gabriel Uzcátegui in connection with a violent attack against a dozen local journalists who were protesting an education bill that critics fear will restrict press freedom in Venezuela. Uzcátegui is an employee of the government-owned broadcaster AvilaTV, the national daily EL Nacional reported.
An Iraqi journalist in America: The other side of the war
It’s been more than three months since I realized one of my most important dreams by coming to the United States. Still, I never thought that I would come here as a refugee, maybe because my Iraqi dignity and pride simply wouldn’t accept such an idea.
Cacho, a top Mexican reporter, describes a life under threat
A month ago I sat next to a cop, turned on my computer, and opened my blog. The threats were there: “My dear lydia cacho get ready to be found soon with your throat slit, your pretty head will be left outside your apartment if you think you are so brave bye.”
Helping the Hikers
The notion that three American hikers could innocently wander across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran has elicited some understandable skepticism. But a statement from their friend who stayed behind in his hotel because he was ill helps explain how the situation unfolded.
Pro-Chávez militant arrested in Globovisión attack
At noon on Tuesday, Venezuelan authorities arrested pro-government activist Lina Ron and took her to Caracas’ military intelligence headquarters, according to an official statement by the Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice Tarek El Aissami. Ron, a founding and very public member of the far-left political party Union Patriótica Venezolana (UPV), appeared in footage of…
Mexican officer’s murder reinforces impunity
In June, CPJ traveled to Ciudad Juárez to report on the extraordinary challenges that Mexican reporters face in covering the drug trade. As CPJ’s Mike O’Connor noted in his report, self-censorship is rife and many critical stories are uncovered. The primary reason is impunity: Those who kill or threaten journalists know there is almost no…
In Brad Will killing, report fuels questions, controversy
On July 26, the following headline appeared in Mexico’s daily Milenio newspaper: “Canada: Will assassinated at point-blank range.” Soon, similar headlines followed. The stories focused on a recent report by three Canadian investigators that sustains conclusions made by the Mexican authorities in the case of Bradley Roland Will, left, a U.S. video-journalist and activist killed…
Even after self-censoring, a reporter is murdered in Mexico
The large family of Mexican radio anchorman Juan Martínez Gil gathered around his coffin in the intense tropical heat of Acapulco’s main cemetery on Thursday. His brother Javier, who identified his badly beaten body on Tuesday, was the least consolable. He leaned across the coffin, his tears flowing down his face onto the dark metal. “Juanito, you…
