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        {"code":"26461","sect":"Central America","sect_slug":"central-america","hits":"1342","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202211\/centroamerica\/26461","link_edit":"","name":"Central American Journalists Create United Front against State-Sponsored Attacks","slug":"central-american-journalists-create-united-front-against-state-sponsored-attacks","info":"The nascent Network of Central American Journalists, launched on Thursday in Antigua Guatemala, hopes to protect independent news media from state-sponsored attacks, spur regional collaboration, and increase the international visibility of press freedom strained by criminalization and public- and private-sector censorship.","mtag":"Newsletter","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"1342","pict":{"cms-image-000038177-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"38177","name":"cms-image-000038177.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038177.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038177.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038177-jpg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Inuaguraci\u00f3n del Foro Centroamericano de Periodismo, realizado en el la ciudad de Antigua Guatemala. Foto de El Faro: Gabriel Adderly.\u00a0&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EInuaguraci\u00f3n del Foro Centroamericano de Periodismo, realizado en el la ciudad de Antigua Guatemala. Foto de El Faro: Gabriel Adderly.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":38177,"date":{"live":"2022\/11\/09"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"11","data_post_dateLive_DD":"09","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/suscribe\/en\/\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESubscribe to our newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn Thursday, November 3, two-dozen of the most prominent journalists from Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica announced the creation of the Network of Central American Journalists, an unprecedented regional association that plans to create mechanisms and channel resources to protect and support independent journalism and news media.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jenalear\/status\/1588352480307720192\/photo\/1\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EIn a statement\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E read in Antigua Guatemala, they asserted that \u201cthe Central American press is facing the greatest obstacles to the free exercise of the profession in three decades.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe group called the \u201cthreat of regimes looking to silence us\u201d a regional \u201cemergency,\u201d citing lawfare, exile, and digital harassment of critical and independent media by \u201cgroups with economic, political, and military power and organized crime,\u201d and underprotection for Indigenous, women, and rural journalists. They concluded: \u201cSilence is not an option.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Network, plans to \u003Cstrong\u003Edeepen and internationalize support networks\u003C\/strong\u003E for colleagues in danger, foster professional growth and transnational projects, and advocate for press freedom. The group hopes to fill voids left by historically underresourced and sometimes power-complacent national professional associations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Network\u2019s founders include some of the most acclaimed journalists working in independent outlets, including Nicaragua\u2019s Confidencial and Divergentes; Guatemala\u2019s Prensa Comunitaria, ConCriterio, and elPeri\u00f3dico; Honduras\u2019 Contracorriente; and El Salvador\u2019s Revista Factum, GatoEncerrado, La Prensa Gr\u00e1fica, and El Faro. The association says that members will participate in a personal capacity and that they expect many others to join.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThe Network of Central American Journalists represents relief, possibility, hope, and is a space self-convened by journalists from the region allowing us to dialogue among peers,\u201d Quimy De Le\u00f3n, founding director of Prensa Comunitaria and Ruda and one of the founders of the Network, told El Faro English. \u201cWe\u2019ve \u003Cstrong\u003Espent a long time looking internally at our own countries\u003C\/strong\u003E and were lacking a complementary regional gaze.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlso among the founders are leaders from the Association of Salvadoran Journalists (APES), which has tracked and denounced Bukele-led attacks against the press; and from #NoNosCallar\u00e1n (\u201cwe won\u2019t be silenced\u201d), a network of Guatemalan journalists who launched a campaign this year to condemn \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202206\/centroamerica\/26216\/New-Targets-of-Attorney-General%E2%80%99s-Lawfare-against-Guatemalan-Justice.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ecriminalization by the Giammattei government\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe inauguration emerged from months of meetings between its founding members. They then held a working group on Thursday morning to determine a final proposal, inviting international NGOs supporting journalism, aid organizations such as USAID, and diplomatic missions including the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, and Sweden to witness the birth of the network and hear their needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe U.K. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/uk-supports-media-freedom-in-central-america.es-419\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ewrote after the announcement\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E that the Network \u201cis the first step of a regional collaboration that will build alliances to defend civic spaces, support journalists\u2019 mental health, and bring citizens closer to their right to be informed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ETo meet and make their announcement they chose the Central American Journalism Forum (ForoCAP), held by El Faro in Antigua Guatemala. It\u2019s no coincidence that the annual forum wasn\u2019t held in San Salvador for the first time in its 12-year history; the organizers cited on stage the specter of \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202211\/centroamerica\/26456\/Arranca-el-ForoCAP-2022-la-celebraci%C3%B3n-del-periodismo-en-un-contexto-de-ataque.htm?ref=home\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Egovernment obstruction\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E or harassment of guests and sponsors in El Salvador.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECensorship playbook\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EPerhaps the most transversal and dangerous obstacle for Central American journalism is lawfare. The son of Jos\u00e9 Rub\u00e9n Zamora, the president of elPeri\u00f3dico and Guatemala\u2019s most prominent publisher, \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202210\/centroamerica\/26424\/El-caso-contra-Zamora-en-Guatemala-los-vicios-del-proceso-y-la-duda-sin-resolver.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ecites threats and harassment\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E as the motive for the turnover of three attorneys in the last two weeks and difficulty in securing his father\u2019s defense against politically motivated \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202208\/centroamerica\/26331\/The-Case-against-Journalist-Jos%C3%A9-Rub%C3%A9n-Zamora-Was-Built-in-72-Hours.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Emoney laundering charges\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E that have kept him in pre-trial detention for three months.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOther Guatemalan journalists have been forced into exile, following dozens of colleagues from Nicaragua and El Salvador. CNN correspondent Michelle Mendoza \u2014who, like El Faro, investigated testimony of bribery against President Alejandro Giammattei\u2014 fled the country at the end of April, after intimidation including a \u003Cstrong\u003Efuneral wreath left at her parents\u2019 doorstep, rape threats, \u003C\/strong\u003Eand on-camera masturbation.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWhat pushed her into exile, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.agenciaocote.com\/blog\/2022\/11\/08\/michelle-mendoza-llaman-amenazarme-decir-no-puedo-regresar\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EAgencia Ocote reported\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E on Tuesday, was an anonymous \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/republica.gt\/guatemala\/michelle-mendoza-y-andrei-gonzalez-periodista-y-fiscal-no-solo-comparten-documentos-y-filtraciones-202242918140\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Epublication\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E in conservative outlet Rep\u00fablica branding her an \u201cextremist\u201d and baselessly accusing her of abandoning her daughters. The outlet pointed to CNN\u2019s reporting on the alleged bribes of Giammattei.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn October, Rep\u00fablica \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/republica.gt\/guatemala\/republica-anuncia-alianza-con-radio-infinita-100-2022103113200\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Etook over the station Radio Infinita\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and forced out independent radio program ConCriterio, co-founded by recognized journalist Juan Luis Font, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/cpj.org\/2022\/04\/guatemalan-journalist-juan-luis-font-leaves-the-country-after-former-official-accuses-him-of-unlawful-association\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eexiled since early April\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cConCriterio had a five-year contract to rent the Infinita frequency,\u201d founding co-host Claudia M\u00e9ndez told El Faro English. \u201cIn July we received a letter from the owner giving us three months to vacate the radio because they had received a better commercial offer.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Guatemala City-based morning show is now broadcasting from another station, but the push-out was not unsimilar to the de-platforming last year from El Salvador\u2019s Channel 33 of Bukele-critical TV programs \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.laprensagrafica.com\/elsalvador\/Hay-intereses-para-que-el-Canal-33-fracase-y-Focos-quede-mudo-20210330-0131.html\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EFocos\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wenmonterrosa\/status\/1420885272632381446?s=20&t=3LInTOEajO9coaHL3rZ8pg\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003ERep\u00fablica\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (no relation with the Guatemalan news site).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cFor journalists outside of Central America\u2019s capital cities, the precarity, vulnerability, and limitations are much more grave,\u201d said Prensa Comunitaria\u2019s De Le\u00f3n. \u201cInequality is quite deep, the \u003Cstrong\u003Edigital divide is wide, and the state only exists to exert control.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn Nicaragua\u2019s case, the Network of Central American Journalists places the number of exiled journalists since 2018 at over 130. At least \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202207\/columnas\/26301\/La-Prensa-tambi%C3%A9n-abandona-Nicaragua.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eeight colleagues have been imprisoned\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E by the Ortega-Murillo regime, which has leaned on a 2020 \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ilo.org\/dyn\/natlex\/docs\/ELECTRONIC\/113064\/141518\/F387936804\/L%201042%20NIC.pdf\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003ECyber Crimes Law\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, cribbing language from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.jurisprudencia.gob.sv\/DocumentosBoveda\/D\/2\/2010-2019\/2016\/02\/B6B74.PDF\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eone approved in El Salvador\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E four years earlier, as one of its primary tools in a sweeping crackdown that has amassed \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202206\/centroamerica\/26247\/Ortega-Finds-Complicity-in-Central-American-Presidents.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eover 180 political prisoners\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENayib Bukele is also looking to borrow from Ortega. Though the approval of a \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202111\/el_salvador\/0000025837-bukele-to-control-ngos-and-media-funding\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EForeign Agents Law\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E requiring NGOs and media receiving international funding to face arbitrary controls and onerous tax burdens has been stalled, Assembly president Ernesto Castro \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/diario.elmundo.sv\/politica\/no-archivaran-ley-de-agentes-extranjeros-dice-presidente-de-asamblea\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Esaid in August\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E that the legislative project hasn\u2019t been discarded.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn Honduras, Reporters Without Borders notes that the Castro administration has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/new-honduran-government-dismantling-mechanism-protecting-journalists\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Elaid off more than two-thirds\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E of staff of the National Protection System \u2014an office created in 2015 to defend journalists, human rights workers, and judges\u2014 \u201cwithout valid explanations, generating an almost total paralysis in the implementation of its protection provisions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Committee to Protect Journalists is \u003Cstrong\u003Einvestigating the slaying of two Honduran journalists\u003C\/strong\u003E this year: \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/cpj.org\/data\/people\/edwin-josue-andino\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EEdwin Josu\u00e9 Andino\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, 23, of Metro TV, abducted by men in police uniforms; and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/cpj.org\/data\/people\/ricardo-alcides-avila\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003ERicardo Alcides \u00c1vila\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, 25, of La Tribuna TV. Contrary to a police report that he died in a robbery, Alcides was found with his money, phone, and motorcycle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Network of Central American Journalists is also keeping its eye on \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202208\/centroamerica\/26323\/Rodrigo-Chaves-Plays-Central-American-Hardball-with-the-Press.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eattacks against the press\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E by Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves. Three weeks ago, the high court struck down the government \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/spa\/costa-rica-prensa_sala-constitucional-anula-cierre-de-parque-de-grupo-naci%C3%B3n-y-condena-a-estado\/47998548\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eclosure of a for-profit event center\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E operated by the parent company run by La Naci\u00f3n, a newspaper reporting on multiple corruption probes facing Chaves. The president, in office for less than a year, has referred to the press as \u201cbad people looking to harm this country.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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