Index on Censorship » Latin America

Chile: TV journalist suspended for satirising Pinochet tribute

Marta Cooper — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:08:52 +0000

A Chilean TV journalist has been suspended after making satirical remarks about a tribute to the country’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet. After an interview with the tribute’s organiser Juan González, sports reporter Víctor Gómez said “we will wait for the smell of sulphur to dissipate” from the studio before launching into his programme on the channel Chilevisión. The reporter was not fired for his remarks, but has been warned against violating the channel’s editorial guidelines.

The post Chile: TV journalist suspended for satirising Pinochet tribute appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Mexico: Missing reporter under government protection

Marta Cooper — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:07:51 +0000

Mexican crime journalist Stephania Cardoso, who went missing with her two-year-old son on 8 June, is understood to be under the protection of the federal government. Cardoso, a reporter with the Zócalo Saltillo newspaper in the state of Coahuila, spoke to Radio Fórmula on 15 June, confirming she and her son were alive and well but gave no further details of her whereabouts or circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Colleagues last saw Cardoso and her son on 7 June during a Freedom of Expression Day celebration.

The post Mexico: Missing reporter under government protection appeared first on Index on Censorship.

El Salvador: Gang member sentenced to 30 years for cameraman murder

Marta Cooper — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:38:34 +0000

Gang member Jonathan Martínez Castro was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a San Salvador court on 31 May for the murder of Canal 33 cameraman Alfredo Hurtado. Two gunmen shot Hurtado while he was visiting Ilopango, on the outskirts of the Salvadorian capital, on 25 April 2011. Hurtado had often covered gang member arrests, and it has been reported that the Mara Salvatrucha gang, of which Martínez Castro was a member, had suspected Hurtado had identified two of its members to the police as the murderers of another gangster. Martínez Castro’s alleged accomplice, Marlon Abrego Rivas, is currently a fugitive.

The post El Salvador: Gang member sentenced to 30 years for cameraman murder appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Venezuela: Third news outlet attacked in a week

Marta Cooper — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:37:38 +0000

The headquarters of Venezuelan newspaper Versión Final, in the city of Maracaibo, was shot at nine times on 3 June, making the attack the third of its kind against a media outlet in the northeastern state of Zulia. On 28 May, the headquarters of newspaper Qué Pasa was attacked by a grenade that damaged the front side of the building, although there were no casualties. The following day, the public television station in Catatumbo suffered an armed attack.

The post Venezuela: Third news outlet attacked in a week appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Honduras: Five suspects arrested in killing of radio journalist

Marta Cooper — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:46:56 +0000

Arrest warrants were issued this week for five suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Honduran radio journalist Alfredo Villatoro. The suspects are reported to have been in possession of the chip of the mobile phone used to call Villatoro’s family. Testifying before a judge on Tuesday, three of the suspects said they had found the chip on the street. On 17 May Honduran authorities also launched an investigation against two prisoners, with the country’s National Police confirming a call was made to the Villatoro family from a jail cell while the journalist was still captive. Villatoro was a director of HRN radio, one of Honduras’ major broadcast stations.

The post Honduras: Five suspects arrested in killing of radio journalist appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Argentina: Journalist beaten to death

Marta Cooper — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:26:57 +0000

A reporter was beaten to death as he entered his home in Neuquén, Argentina, on 29 April. Adolfo Salazar, journalist and owner of the FM radio station La Radio de Fito, is reported to have died from head trauma. According to local police, the motive for the killing remains unclear.

The post Argentina: Journalist beaten to death appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Brazil: Police officer killed while investigating journalist’s murder

Marta Cooper — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:31:18 +0000

A police officer investigating a journalist’s murder was shot dead on Saturday by two men on a motorcycle in Ponta Porã on the Brazil-Paraguay border. Paulo César Santos Magalhães, who was part of a special unit fighting organised crime, was leading the investigation into the death of journalist Paulo Rocaro, also shot dead by two gunmen on a motorcycle in February. Magalhães stopped at traffic lights before being shot 13 times. Four other Brazilian journalists besides Rocaro have been murdered this year. Investigations into their deaths are ongoing.

The post Brazil: Police officer killed while investigating journalist’s murder appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Honduras: 18th journalist killed since 2010

Marta Cooper — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:34:51 +0000

A radio broadcaster has been killed in Sabá, northern Honduras, making him the 18th journalist to be killed in the country since 2010. Fausto Elio Hernández, host of The Voice of the News programme broadcast on local station Radio Alegre, was hacked to death by a machete-wielding attacker on 10 March. While police have reportedly said the killing is not related to Hernández’s work as a journalist, Honduras has the second-highest murder rate for journalists in Latin America, after Mexico.

The post Honduras: 18th journalist killed since 2010 appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Honduras: lawyer murdered after police torture accusations

Marta Cooper — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:47:10 +0000

Honduran lawyer Jose Ricardo Rosales was shot dead by three hooded gunmen on 17 January, three days after he was quoted in newspaper Diario Tiempo, accusing police officers in the northern town of Tela of torturing prisoners. The Honduras College of Lawyers claim that 74 lawyers have been killed in the past three years in the country.

The post Honduras: lawyer murdered after police torture accusations appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Peru: Journalists sentenced to house arrest for defamation

Marta Cooper — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:06:11 +0000

Two Peruvian journalists accused of defamation were last week sentenced to two years in prison, although on suspended sentences which involve house arrest and paying a civil fine of $11,000 USD. Fritz Du Bois, editor of the newspaper Perú 21, and Gessler Ojeda, Perú 21 correspondent in the city of Arequipa, were reportedly taken to court for publishing stories about supposed links between the family of legislator Ana María Solórzano and prostitution businesses in the southern city.

The post Peru: Journalists sentenced to house arrest for defamation appeared first on Index on Censorship.