Credit: Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo | File
Miami (January 6, 2026) — The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) urges Venezuelan authorities to respect and guarantee the free exercise of journalism, in a context marked by confusion, heightened informational tension, and the population’s growing need for access to reliable, plural, and timely information.
The IAPA expressed concern over the detention yesterday of at least 14 journalists, mostly correspondents and employees of international media outlets, as well as other restrictions on the flow of information reported in the country, according to press reports.
These events are taking place in an exceptional context marked by uncertainty following the attacks carried out in the early hours of Saturday, January 3, in Caracas by United States armed forces, who captured and transferred Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to the United States. Maduro and his wife appeared yesterday before a federal court in New York. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges they face, including narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, during a brief and strictly procedural hearing. The situation has increased public demand for reliable information.
“The public’s right to remain informed becomes even more critical in times of institutional and political uncertainty. Obstructing the work of the press only deepens disinformation and social anxiety,” said IAPA President Pierre Manigault, Chairman of Evening Post Publishing Inc. of Charleston, South Carolina.
For her part, Martha Ramos, chair of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information and editorial director of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), warned that “no circumstance justifies the detention, intimidation, or criminalization of journalists for carrying out their informative work. Journalism must not be treated as a threat, but as an essential public service.”
The IAPA called on Venezuelan authorities to cease any actions that limit the exercise of press freedom, to guarantee due process for detained journalists, and to respect international standards on human rights and freedom of expression.
According to the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP), a total of 23 journalists and media workers remain deprived of their liberty in an “unjust and arbitrary” manner in Venezuela, and more than 60 media outlets continue to be blocked on the internet. “It is not possible to move toward a democratic transition while political persecution, censorship, arbitrary imprisonment, and the systematic violation of fundamental rights persist,” the SNTP stated in a press release.
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.