WHEREAS from October 2015 to date 12 journalists have been murdered, four in Brazil, four in Mexico and one each in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Venezuela
WHEREAS João Valdecir de Borba, an announcer on radio station Radio Difusora AM in São Jorge do Oeste, Paraná, Brazil, was murdered on March 10, 2016
WHEREAS Orislândio Timoteo Araújo, creator of the Roberto Lano blog and radio journalist in Buriticupu, Maranhão, Brazil, was murdered on November 21, 2015
WHEREAS Ítalo Eduardo Diniz Barros, blogger with news Web site ÍtaloDiniz.com in Governador Nunes Freire, Maranhão, Brazil, was murdered on November 13, 2015
WHEREAS Israel Gonçalves Silva, a journalist with community radio Itaenga FM and correspondent of Web site A Voz de Vitória in Lagoa de Itaenga, Pernambuco, Brazil, was murdered on November 9, 2015
WHEREAS Moisés Dagdug Lutzow, journalist and owner of communication company Grupo VX in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico, was murdered on February 20, 2016
WHEREAS Anabel Flores Salazar, freelance journalist with El Sol de Orizaba in Veracruz, Mexico, was kidnapped on February 8, 2016 and the following day was found dead
WHEREAS Reinel Martínez Cerqueda, host of musical programs on community radio station El Manantial in Oaxaca, Mexico, was murdered on January 2, 2016
WHEREAS Marcos Hernández Bautista, correspondent of the newspaper Noticias, Voz e Imagen in Oaxaca, Mexico, was murdered on January 21, 2016
WHEREAS Dorance Herrera, social communicator at the Antioquia University in Caucasia, Antioquia, Colombia, was murdered on November 23, 2016
WHEREAS Nicolás Humberto García, host on community radio station Expresa Voce al Aire in Tacuba, Ahuachapán, El Salvador, was murdered on March 10, 2016
WHEREAS Mario Roberto Salazar Barahoma, director of radio station Estéreo Azúcar in Asunción Mita, Jutiapa, Guatemala, was murdered on March 17, 2016
WHEREAS Ricardo Durán, Caracas government press chief and journalist with the state-owned TV Venezolana de Televisión in Caracas, Venezuela, was murdered on January 20, 2016
WHEREAS Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states "Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly"
THE IAPA MIDYEAR MEETING RESOLVES
to condemn the murders of journalists João Valdecir de Borba, Orislândio Timoteo Araújo, Ítalo Eduardo Diniz Barros and Israel Gonçalves Silva, of Brazil; Moisés Dagdug Lutzow, Anabel Flores Salazar, Reinel Martínez Cerqueda and Marcos Hernández Bautista, of Mexico; Dorance Herrera, of Colombia, Nicolás Humberto García, of El Salvador; Mario Roberto Salazar Barahona, of Guatemala and Ricardo Durán, of Venezuela
to urge the governments and corresponding authorities of Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Venezuela to rigorsouly apply justice so as to determine the motives for the murders, find those guilty and punish the perpetrators and masterminds
to reiterate that attacks of all kinds upon journalists are a threat to freedom of expression and to encourage the culture of denunciation of violence and of impunity in crijmes against journalists.
