The Organization of American States should press the Honduran de facto government to halt the excessive use of force against protesters and to guarantee other fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch has received credible reports that the use of excessive force by Honduran security forces against demonstrators has caused at least one death, and possibly more. Credible sources also report that more than 150 people have been arbitrarily detained. "The...

Hugo Chavez launched a newspaper to fight against "media terrorism" that attacks his government. It's "El Correo del Orinoco," a reissue of the historic newspaper created in 1818 by Simon Bolivar to defend the struggle for independence. "We must be guided by the principles Bolivar expressed in the first edition of Correo del Orinoco: we are free, we write in a free country and we do not intend to deceive the public," said the Venezuelan President. Chavez...

El Siglo de Torreon, a newspaper in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila, said Tuesday that its offices were the target of a shooting attack that left no casualties. “According to preliminary reports, it was close to 1:00 a.m. in the morning when a burst of gunfire from large-caliber weapons was heard,” the newspaper said on its Web site. The newspaper has its main offices in Torreon, capital of Coahuila. “Broken windows, walls riddled with bullets and damaged...

A group of Venezuelan journalists who who were protesting peacefully in a crowded street in Caracas were attacked by people supporting the Chavez government. 12 Journalists from "Grupo Editorial Cadena Capriles" were wounded. Source:

Government supporters protested Monday outside the studios of Globovision, the only television station stridently against Hugo Chávez remaining on the open airwaves. The protesters, riding motorcycles and waving the flags of the radical pro-Chávez party, tossed tear gas canisters at the station. The channel said some assailants fired shots at the studios in Caracas, and it broadcast video showing clouds of tear gas outside the building as employees ran for cover. Globovision's...

The Venezuelan Government is definitely ready to take control for all the media in the country. In a new attack to news network Globovision, several members of the channel were injured when at least 35 motorbike riding men entered the company headquarters, throwing ter gas bombs. At about 1 pm local time, civil groups identified with symbols of Hugo Chávez’s party hurt one of the safety guards in a hand, threw two tear gas grenades. The attack takes place two days after the...

Thirteen channels ordered to be closed by the Venezuelan government went off the air on Saturday and more than 200 are expected to close in coming weeks. The government broadcasting watchdog, Conatel, said that 34 radio outlets would be closed because they failed to comply with regulations. However, critics claimed the crackdown infringed on freedom of speech and hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Caracas against the closures. "They're closing the space for dissidents in...

The Venezuelan government has adopted and proposed measures that reduce the ability of government critics to voice their opinions and will seriously limit freedom of expression in Venezuela, Human Rights Watch said today. On July 30, 2009, Venezuela's attorney general introduced draft legislation on "media crimes" that establish prison sentences of up to four years for anyone who, through media outlets, provides "false" information that "harm[s] the interests of the...

TEGUCIGALPA - Honduras has shut down television and radio stations since an army coup over the weekend, in a media blackout than has drawn condemnation from an international press freedom group. Shortly after the Honduran military seized President Manuel Zelaya and flew him to Costa Rica on Sunday, soldiers stormed a popular radio station and cut off local broadcasts of international television networks CNN en Espanol and Venezuelan-based Telesur, which is sponsored by leftist governments...

The Peruvian government's decision this month to revoke the broadcast license of a local radio station could have a chilling effect on community broadcasting in Peru, Human Rights Watch said today. The timing and circumstances of the revocation suggest that it may have been an act of censorship, or punishment, in response to coverage of anti-government protests on June 5, 2009. On June 8, the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications revoked Radio La Voz de Bagua's broadcast license. Other...