Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ Mexico Representative

Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ's Mexico representative for the Americas program, works as a correspondent for Dutch newspaper Trouw, and regularly contributes to publications including Newsweek and RTL Nieuws. He is based in Mexico City.

A portrait of Javier Valdez at a Mexico City event to pay tribute to the investigative journalist, who was murdered in May. (AFP/Bernardo Montoya)

Memory of Mexico’s investigative reporter Javier Valdez will live on through his work

Two months have passed since Javier Valdez Cárdenas, the Mexican investigative reporter and recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, was murdered. The grief over his killing in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state, has left many looking for answers as to why the investigation into his murder appears to have yielded few results so…

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Dutch journalist Okke Ornstein pictured in Panama's Renacer prison, where he is being held for criminal defamation. (CPJ/Jan-Albert Hootsen)

Jailed Dutch reporter Ornstein says Panama failed to inform him of legal proceedings

A faint smile appears on Okke Ornstein’s face as he recalls what happened last summer, when he traveled with a group of refugees through Europe to document their trip for a Dutch radio broadcaster.

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Carmen Aristegui, pictured at a news conference in July, is being sued by MVS, the broadcaster she used to work for. Changes to a law on fines in civil cases is making journalists in Mexico vulnerable. (AFP/Alfredo Estrella)

Change to Mexican law leaves critical journalists at risk of steep fines

Sergio Aguayo, one of Mexico’s most prominent political commentators, said he was taken by surprise when he heard he was being sued for “moral damages.” The plaintiff, Humberto Moreira, is a former governor who faced allegations that he severely mishandled the state’s finances, was involved in graft and corruption, and had ties to organized crime.…

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A protester from the CNTE crouches near a barricade during clashes with riot police in Nochixtlán. Journalists covering the unrest say they have been harassed and attacked. (Reuters/Jorge Luis Plata)

In Oaxaca, reporters covering teachers’ union protests face violence, threats

The atmosphere in Nochixtlán, a small, rural community in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca, was tense on June 20. The day before, members of a dissident teachers’ union had clashed with federal and state police while protesting education reform. Shots were fired and, by the end of the day, nine people had died and dozens…

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Miguel Angel Mancera, the mayor of Mexico City, casts his vote on June 5. Journalists were threatened and harassed in the lead up to state elections. (Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

In Mexico, covering state elections brings risk of threats and violence

As the June 5 elections approached, the anonymous phone calls to Mexican journalist Pedro Canché became more frequent and more ominous. “The Caribbean is a big sea, you’ll never be found,” one said. “I hope you’ve written a will,” said another. A third caller told Canché, “Remember what happened to Rubén Espinosa,” referring to the…

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