On Wednesday, June 14, the well-known Guatemalan journalist, José Rubén Zamora, was sentenced to six years and a fine of 300,000 quetzals (more than 38,000 US dollars) for money laundering. The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemned the ruling and criticized the lack of independence of Guatemala's judicial system.
The Nicaraguan journalist Víctor Ticay was also a victim of his country's justice system. On June 9, the journalist was found guilty of "propagation of false news" and "undermining national integrity." Ticay has been detained for two months for covering a religious procession during Holy Week.
In Peru, Flavio Cruz, spokesman for the political party Peru Libre, supported the "gag law," which increases penalties for defamation crimes. Cruz also accused journalism of "gagging" the population and politicians.
Haiti set off SIP Bot alarm bells after Radio Vision 2000 journalist Marie Lucie Bonhomme Opont was kidnapped from her home by the criminal gang known as "Kraze Baryè" on June 13. She was released hours later.
In Colombia, a group of protesters demanding a prosecutor's resignation attacked a Blu Radio journalist covering the events.
In Ecuador, three journalists were robbed and shot at in Los Ceibos.
So far, in 2023, the Specialized Unit for Crimes Committed Against Journalists and Human Rights Defenders of Mexico has received more than 130 complaints of attacks against journalists.
IAPA Bot is an artificial intelligence tool of the Inter American Press Association that monitors press freedom violations in real time. It tracks information published in the media, Google News, Twitter, and from a selection of IAPA notes and denunciations. In addition, it contains a heat map that allows observing the press freedom climate in each country, a button to make complaints, and a menu that highlights the statements of government leaders, citizens' conversations, and relevant events.
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 in the Western Hemisphere, based in Miami, Florida, United States.
