El Universal

Many state media in Latin American are used for political propaganda, but the Venezuelan government has built an unprecedented media empire that it uses to attack critics and independent journalists and obscure issues like crime and inflation. By Carlos Lauría

New York, July 30, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a death threat made Sunday against Lydia Cacho, the Mexican investigative reporter and author, and calls on federal authorities to launch a thorough investigation.

In some Latin American countries, state-owned media are used not only for propaganda but as platforms to smear critics, including journalists. Some elected leaders have even invested in large multimedia holdings to further their agendas. By Carlos Lauría