In the weeks prior to the elections in Venezuela, journalists Luis López and Gabriel González were arrested in a climate of repression and persecution that is accentuated against those who express dissent and critical voices. María Corina Machado, founder of the opposition party 'Vente Venezuela', denounced 37 cases of activists and journalists detained during this year, according to press reports.
In the United States, the International Women's Media Foundation conducted a survey among 350 journalists covering the presidential elections. According to the study, 37% of media professionals have been threatened with physical violence, while 30% have been victims of online threats. In this context, the foundation provided security training in different states of the country.
In Mexico, two individuals on a motorcycle shot at the facilities of Diario Adiscusión in Sinaloa. Although no one was injured, the attack caused concern among the Mexican press due to the vulnerability of journalists and media outlets in different areas of the country.
On the other hand, journalist Humberto Padgett denounced that the Mexico City Attorney General's Office closed the investigation into the leaking of his personal data to alleged criminals, linked to an investigation of his on drug dealing. "The conditions for exercising a free press in Mexico are cancelled," said the journalist in his X account.
The Foundation for Press Freedom (Flip) documented threats against three media directors by FARC dissidents in Caquetá. As a consequence, the journalists decided to stop publishing information on security and public order in that department.
The Instituto Prensa y Sociedad de Perú (IPYS) criticized the Peruvian government's practice of systematically blocking the media from asking questions to President Dina Boluarte. The president has been unable to communicate with the press for more than 70 days due to the fact that she is under investigation for alleged illicit enrichment.
The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and freedom of expression in the Americas. It is comprised of more than 1,300 publications in the Western Hemisphere and is headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States.
