Miami (October 9, 2026) — Columbia University presented the 2026 María Moors Cabot Awards on Thursday in New York at a ceremony marked by warnings about violence against journalists, persistent impunity, and threats to press freedom in the Americas. Among the honorees were Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell and Venezuelan journalist Luz Mely Reyes, while Ricardo Trotti, former executive director of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), received a special citation recognizing his career and his efforts to defend press freedom.
The Cabot Awards, presented by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, honor journalists and news organizations for excellence throughout their careers and for coverage of the Western Hemisphere that contributes to inter-American understanding.
The 2026 awards also honored Argentine journalist Leila Guerriero and Kate Linthicum of Los Angeles Times with Gold Medals, while Jan Martínez Ahrens, director of Spain’s El País, and David Brooks, longtime columnist for La Jornada, received special citations for their contributions to journalism in the Americas.
Among this year’s honorees, Ricardo Trotti, former executive director of the IAPA, received a special citation for his work in support of press freedom and, particularly, his efforts to expose crimes against journalists and demand justice for their victims.
Upon receiving the distinction, Trotti dedicated the recognition to the families of murdered journalists and recalled that more than 500 members of the press have lost their lives in the Americas since 1990.
“We have knocked on many doors with those families. Together, we are still searching justice. Impunity prevails,” Trotti said, warning that “impunity is not the end of a crime. It is an invitation to the next one.”
Trotti also thanked the IAPA for maintaining, even during difficult times for the news industry, its conviction that democracy cannot survive without press freedom.
The ceremony also honored Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell, who accepted the award on behalf of investigative journalists in Colombia and those who serve the Hispanic community in the United States.
Coronell recalled the death threats that forced him to leave his country with his family and denounced the risks Colombian journalists continue to face, from physical violence and smear campaigns to the use of legal action to silence journalistic investigations.
He called on the U.S. press not to abandon their Latin American colleagues and to pay greater attention to the situation of the Hispanic community in the United States.
Venezuelan journalist Luz Mely Reyes, co-founder of Efecto Cocuyo, dedicated her recognition to those who have sustained independent journalism in Venezuela, both inside and outside the country, despite censorship, persecution, and exile.
“I come from a country that we are going to rebuild,” she said at the beginning of her speech, urging the international community to support Venezuela’s democratic recovery.
Reyes argued that supporting the press that has persevered is not merely a moral obligation, but also a democratic and strategic responsibility. She recalled that authoritarianism had forced many journalists to conceal their names and faces to protect their lives and underscored the importance of publicly recognizing those who continued reporting under adverse conditions.
The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.
