“The use of the criminal justice system and oversight bodies to settle disputes involving media outlets creates a chilling effect that is deeply harmful to press freedom."
Miami (April 16, 2026) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expresses its deep concern and strong condemnation over the escalation of judicial and administrative actions in Ecuador against Grupo Granasa, the publishing company of the newspapers Expreso and Extra, in a context that reveals a troubling deterioration of guarantees for the exercise of press freedom in the country.
In recent days, the situation has reached a new level of seriousness with the criminal complaint for alleged criminal association against several Granasa executives, filed by the liquidator of the company Veranera S.A., Carlos Xavier Cadena Asencio, within the framework of a dispute over control of 40% of the company’s shareholding, as reported by Expreso.
Among those named in the proceedings is Ingrid Francisca Martínez Leisker, a shareholder of the company, whose participation is under dispute in the ongoing corporate litigation. The complaint was filed before the Guayas Prosecutor’s Office and also includes its CEO, Galo Martínez Leisker, and six other executives of the publishing group: José Gabriel Martínez Castro, Eduardo Carmigniani Valencia, Carlos Alfonso Martínez, Felipe Eduardo Terrero Martínez, and Michelle Andreina Villamar Guerrero, in addition to the aforementioned Ingrid Francisca Martínez Leisker.
The complaint cannot be analyzed in isolation or solely from a commercial or criminal perspective. On the contrary, it is part of a broader process that combines judicial, administrative, and regulatory actions which, according to various reports, seek to influence the ownership structure and potentially the editorial line of one of the country’s main media groups, as documented by the IAPA.
The conflict originates from an attempt to reverse a share transfer carried out several years ago, which has led to a series of institutional actions—including interventions by the Superintendence of Companies, judicial decisions, and now criminal complaints—that have been questioned for their speed, coordination, and cumulative effects, according to press reports.
In addition, Grupo Granasa itself has denounced a “complex scenario for freedom of expression,” stating that state institutions are allegedly being used as tools of political pressure, in a context where critical media outlets have previously faced investigations for alleged financial crimes that did not succeed.
At the same time, symbolic actions such as blank front pages in the newspapers Expreso and Extra have sought to alert public opinion to what they consider a pattern of harassment that goes beyond the judicial sphere and projects itself as an attempt to control or condition editorial content.
“The use of the criminal justice system and oversight bodies to settle disputes involving media outlets creates a chilling effect that is deeply harmful to press freedom. These types of actions not only affect one company but also send a message of intimidation to the entire information ecosystem,” said Pierre Manigault, president of the IAPA and of Evening Post Publishing Inc., based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States.
For her part, Martha Ramos, chair of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, emphasized: “We are particularly concerned about the accumulation of measures—administrative, judicial, and now criminal—which, taken together, may lead to a form of indirect censorship. Editorial independence cannot be conditioned by structural pressure from those in power,” said Ramos, editorial director of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM).
The organization urgently calls on Ecuadorian authorities to guarantee full respect for the principles of due process, legal certainty, and freedom of expression, avoiding the use of ambiguous or disproportionate criminal charges that could lead to the criminalization of journalism or undue interference in media outlets.
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.