An overview of the murders of journalists in the Americas

The IAPA has been recording the murders of journalists since 1987 and to date these total 360. Colombia appears as the country with the largest number of such crimes – 123. However, the figure rose between 1989 and 2003, the product largely of the violence attributed to the illicit drug trade and groups operating outside the law. In recent years a decrease in the numbers of murders in that country has been noted. Mexico is in second place in the number of murders – 86 – while, in contrast to the new reality in Colombia, since 2004 there has been an upturn there in homicides and/or kidnappings of journalists, many of which are blamed on the harsh and intolerant hand of organized crime. Between 2004 and 2009 a total of 29 journalists were murdered and another eight abducted, with their whereabouts remaining unknown. These two countries are followed on the list, which is made up of 20 Western Hemisphere nations, by Brazil, with 32 murders; Guatemala, 23; Peru, 19; El Salvador, 16; Haiti, 13; Venezuela, 11; United States, 7; Ecuador, 6; Paraguay, 5; Honduras, 4; Argentina, 3; Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, 2 each; Guyana and Uruguay, 1 each.