Miami (September 9, 2025) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today strongly condemned threats against the personal safety of Haitian journalist and press freedom advocate Joseph Guyler C. Delva, who was forced to suspend his professional activities amid escalating intimidation.
Delva, secretary general of SOS Journalistes Haiti and IAPA vice chair of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information in the country, reported that since early August he has been the target of persistent harassment, including death threats from unidentified individuals.
The journalist alerted the management of Radio Caraïbes—where he co-hosted the sociopolitical program Matin Caraïbes—about these threats. Given the increasing danger, he was compelled to halt his work. Delva also revealed an attempt to falsely link him to armed gangs, a plan ultimately dismissed by Haitian authorities due to potential negative consequences for the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police.
IAPA President José Roberto Dutriz, CEO and general manager of La Prensa Gráfica in El Salvador, expressed solidarity with Delva: “The climate of harassment and threats he faces underscores the defenseless conditions under which journalists must carry out their work in Haiti and represents an attack on press freedom in the country.”
Martha Ramos, chair of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information and editorial director of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), issued an urgent appeal to Haitian authorities: “We call for immediate and effective measures to ensure the physical safety of Joseph Guyler C. Delva and to guarantee the professional work of all journalists in Haiti. Threats against one journalist are threats against all of society; violence must not be allowed to silence those who defend the public’s right to be informed.”
Delva has previously been subjected to discriminatory practices by authorities, which have also affected SOS Journalistes, recently excluded from a local press support initiative.
Haiti continues to be plagued by violence, political instability, and widespread insecurity, conditions that severely undermine the work of journalists. The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has described Haiti as the most challenging environment for press freedom in the hemisphere.
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.