Miami (March 10, 2025) - In response to concerns raised by its own reports and those of local partners highlighting a significant deterioration in press freedom in Peru, an international delegation from the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) began a series of meetings in the country today to assess the situation and its implications.
The mission is a response to a request from media outlets associated with IAPA in the country and the Peruvian Press Council (CPP, by its Spanish acronym). The delegation is led by IAPA President José Roberto Dutriz, CEO and General Director of La Prensa Gráfica in El Salvador, and includes former president Roberto Rock, director of La Silla Rota in Mexico; IAPA's second vice president and president of the Committee on Freedom of Press and Information, Carlos Jornet, director of La Voz del Interior in Argentina; and the organization's executive director, Carlos Lauría.
During their three-day stay in the country, the organization's representatives have scheduled meetings with Peru's Attorney General, Delia Espinoza Valenzuela and the President of Peru's Judiciary, Janet Ofelia Lourdes Tello, to discuss the main issues affecting the press. The IAPA has also requested a meeting with Peru's President, Dina Boluarte, who has not yet responded to the request.
The delegation will also meet with journalists and representatives from media organizations and the academic sphere.
The IAPA's report from last October on the state of press freedom in Peru states: "Legislative initiatives, lawsuits and defamation claims, raids, obstruction of public interest coverage, and verbal attacks against journalists have been the primary mechanisms for attacking the press during this period."
The Chapultepec Index, an annual index by the IAPA assessing legal frameworks, governmental actions concerning the press, public opinion expression, violence against journalists, access to information, media restrictions, and ethical journalism practices, recorded in 2024 "a serious setback in freedom of expression and the press in Peru," dropping from 12th to 16th out of 22 countries and being classified under "high restrictions" on freedom of expression and press.
At the end of the visit to Peru, the delegation will issue a statement on the main conclusions reached during the mission.
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.
