Miami (April 2, 2025) — The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expresses deep concern over what the Mexican outlet Vanguardia considers judicial retaliation against it, stemming from its critical coverage of former Coahuila governor Humberto Moreira Valdés.
According to reports from the media, Vanguardia has been targeted since 2016 in a systematic campaign of legal harassment and personal persecution, allegedly driven by Moreira.
The offensive allegedly began following a publication about Moreira's arrest in Spain for alleged financial crimes and intensified in recent years through abusive lawsuits, threats, unjustified raids, and pressures on judges and third parties.
In a public statement signed by its general director Armando Castilla, the newspaper stated, "In Coahuila, the Judiciary has become a tool to silence critical media, issuing judgments by directive, outside the law and the most basic principles of the Rule of Law."
One of the most serious actions described in the complaint is the attempted seizure of family properties belonging to the newspaper director, in a process led by a judge allegedly linked to the political party of the former governor.
"We are alarmed that the judicial apparatus is being used as a tool for personal revenge and silencing of critical voices," said IAPA President José Roberto Dutriz. "The Vanguardia case highlights a worrying pattern in the region: the use of legal mechanisms to intimidate, wear down, and censor independent media," warned Dutriz, CEO and general director of La Prensa Gráfica, El Salvador.
"The use of justice to punish critical journalism constitutes one of the most subtle and effective threats to freedom of expression in Latin America," added IAPA's second vice president and president of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Carlos Jornet.
"We urge Mexican authorities to ensure an impartial review of the case and to stop the misuse of the judicial system for persecution purposes," said Jornet, editor of La Voz del Interior, Córdoba, Argentina."
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.
