Press freedom in the Americas saw a ‘dramatic deterioration’ last year, watchdog says

Press freedom in the Americas has suffered a “dramatic deterioration” in 2025, according to a report released Tuesday by the Miami-based Inter American Press Association (IAPA), which assessed media conditions across 23 countries in the Western Hemisphere.

The organization’s annual Chapultepec index, published since 2020, revealed this past year as “one of the worst” for journalists in the region, citing homicides, arbitrary arrests, and widespread impunity for crimes against media workers.

Venezuela and Nicaragua ranked at the bottom of the index as countries “without freedom of speech,” while Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, Peru, Mexico, Haiti, Cuba, and El Salvador fell into the “high restriction” category. By contrast, Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Panama were classified as nations with “low restrictions.”

The United States was categorized as a country with “restrictions” on press freedom, with the report documenting 170 attacks against journalists in 2025. The IAPA expressed particular concern over incidents during Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and noted “poor government action against disinformation.” The report also criticized the Trump administration for “stigmatizing” media outlets that challenged its policies.

Violence against journalists has surged across the region. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that 13 journalists were murdered in Latin America last year, nearly double the seven recorded in 2024.

“What CPJ has observed in the region are deliberate attacks by public agencies against the press with the objective of delegitimizing its work,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America coordinator. She highlighted a disturbing trend where governments are weaponizing anti-terrorism laws, cybercrime legislation, and regulations targeting nonprofit organizations to criminalize journalism.

The IAPA attributes the increasing hostility toward journalists to the rise of “authoritarian presidents” across the hemisphere. In Venezuela, where press censorship has become deeply entrenched, local media outlets reportedly provided minimal coverage of opposition leader María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize, fearing government retribution.

Nicaragua presents an even more severe case, with the report describing censorship as “institutionalized” following constitutional reforms that consolidated presidential control over all government branches.

In El Salvador, classified as a country with “high restrictions,” officials reportedly intimidate journalists through lawsuits and criminal investigations. The report documented 180 attacks against media workers in just a three-month period between May and July.

Ecuador has experienced extreme violence against journalists, with 290 acts of aggression recorded last year, including four murders allegedly committed by criminal organizations. In one incident, police shot a journalist in the shoulder while they were broadcasting an Indigenous community protest.

Haiti, included in the index for the first time, ranked among the countries with the worst press freedom conditions. The report cited the murders of two journalists by gang members during the reopening ceremony of a Port-au-Prince hospital in 2024. These crimes typically go unpunished in Haiti, where criminal gangs control significant portions of the capital and systematically intimidate journalists and residents.

The troubling regional trends highlight the growing challenges faced by journalists across the Americas, where democratic backsliding and increasing authoritarianism threaten independent reporting. As violence, legal harassment, and government intimidation become more common, press freedom advocates warn that the ability to report objectively on matters of public interest is increasingly under threat.

The IAPA, with over 1,300 member news organizations throughout the Americas, continues to advocate for press freedoms and journalistic independence throughout the region.