Every year seems to bring a downward spiral in the exercise of freedom of expression in the Americas. Still, recent global events and extremely high levels of violence against journalists and writers are evidence of an alarming crisis in artistic and press freedom in the region. Despite the good news and celebration that many of our colleagues have improved their situation and regained their freedom, threats are becoming more frequent, more severe, more challenging, and therefore more difficult for artists, writers and editors across the continent to deal with. As a result, PEN International’s public and behind-the-scenes support for them continues to be a physical and creative lifeline. 

Murder and other criminal violence 

Although the Americas is a continent without any declared wars, it has a high rate of criminal violence and of murders of journalists, in countries including Haiti, Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and Ecuador. PEN International’s annual  ‘Day of the Dead’  campaign documented not only the murders of communicators in the region from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2024 but also continued to highlight the elevated levels of impunity for killings in the Americas. 

Mexico remains the most violent country in the region for practising journalism, with at least four journalists killed for their work as journalists during the year (the latest of the 47 journalists killed between 2019 and 2024 during the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador). In June and October 2024, in Sinaloa province, the premises of the newspapers Adiscusión and El Debate were violently attacked and media workers kidnapped in retaliation for their reporting. In October 2024, PEN International sent an open letter to the new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum with two specific requests: to reduce impunity for crimes against journalists and to ensure the free exercise of free expression and artistic expression by preventing harassment against artists, writers, publishers and journalists.  

Meanwhile, extreme social violence in Haiti, and the lack of governance, continues to claim the lives of journalists.  Two reporters were killed in December 2024 whilst covering the opening of a hospital –attacked by criminal groups. 

Harassment, threats and official stigmatisation  

During 2024, there was an increase in threats against women and indigenous authors who often addressed important issues such as: defence of land and traditional territories, migration and human rights, as well as those writing about sexual and gender identity, putting them at risk, or leaving them no option but to leave their homes. Indigenous language poets in Mexico, where activism and poetry in the service of Indigenous Peoples' causes are marked by violence and persecution, have received threats, such as those against Zoque poet Mikeas Sánchez who had to leave her home in Chiapas because of threats to her work as an activist and poet (see Mexico section below). In Canada, Brandi Morin, journalist, best-selling author and recipient of PEN Canada’s Ken Filkow Award 2023 for promoting freedom of expression, was arrested in January while reporting on policing of a homeless settlement in Edmonton, Canada, which included Indigenous individuals (see Canada section below). 

Particularly noteworthy was the increase in actions by those in power to discredit writers and journalists by smearing them on official channels. The harassment aims to undermine the work and messages of books, academic articles, media columns, opinion pieces and press leaders. It is  fuelling a wave of digital and cyber bullying, often in the form of smear campaigns on social media, and has been accompanied by the introduction of legislation to punish criticism in digital media, despite the fact that the Inter-American legal framework on freedom of expression emphasises that States must refrain from discriminatory practices that compromise the enjoyment and effective exercise of free expression. 

For example, in Argentina, journalists, writers, publishing houses and media outlets have been publicly insulted by President Javier Milei, who accused them of being accomplices of corrupt politicians or of writing ‘lies, slander or insults’. According to the Argentine Forum of Journalists (Fopea), out of 173 attacks documented in the first year of Milei's mandate, 69.3%came from public officials, of which the president himself was responsible for almost half (32.37% of the total – 56 attacks). This was accompanied by a decree that prevents the release of information that the President deems private, an apparent attempt to curb the flow of information and criticism of the Milei government. 

In Mexico, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador frequently targeted writers, editors, journalists and others who criticised his administration during his morning press conferences. For example, he labelled writers Héctor Aguilar Camín and Enrique Krauze, two influential cultural figures in the country, as ‘conservatives’ and critics seeking to profit from their accusations, placing them at risk of further attacks. Natalie Kitroeff, a journalist for The New York Times, faced similar harassment when the former president exposed her personal data in response to an investigation. Breach of personal data is part of the Mexican government's ongoing campaign to undermine the investigative work of journalists.  

In Peru, legal harassment against journalists, investigations and books is highlighted by the number of attacks and lawsuits brought against Peruvian investigative journalists and authors of books, which attempt to weaken their resources and limit investigations. Authorities in Cuba made threatening statements in April 2024, warning of possible criminal sanctions for those involved in mass protests, including lengthy prison sentences and the death penalty, ignoring concerns raised by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). In the run-up to the 2025 presidential election in Honduras, acts of repression increased, including threats, violence and the use of criminal law as a means of intimidation. 

Banned books: an assault on equality, freedom to read and press freedom 

The increasing censorship of books related to race and gender identity provides a clear demonstration of ongoing attempts in some countries in the Americas to rewrite cultural and social narratives and the growth ofgrowing ‘cancel culture’. Such actions raise the possibility of stigmatisation and threats against authors targeted in this way. 

The Americas holds the global record for book censorship, a reality worsening year by year. In the United States of America (USA), at least 10,046 books in 29 states and 220 public school districts were censored in the school year from July 2023 to June 2024, according to PEN America’s School Book Ban Index , affecting an astonishing array of books and subjects, from new picture books or young adult novels to literary classics — from Captain Underpants to Roots, from The Handmaid’s Tale to the Merriam-Webster dictionary (see box under United States of America section below). They overwhelmingly included books with characters of colour (44%) and LGBTQI or non-binary characters (39%). 

Regrettably, this trend has spread to countries such as Argentina, where government officials and organisations linked to supporters of President Javier Milei and Vice-president Victoria Villarruel launched a campaign to censor books dealing with issues such as feminicide, the rescue of historically marginalised female characters or the sexual abuse of a teenage girl, calling for their removal from schools or public bookshops (see Argentina section below). 

Judicial persecution: banishment, detention and imprisonment 

In Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guatemala, authorities continued to use judicial persecution to silence journalists, artists and other critical voices in 2024.  

As documented in PEN International’s joint submission for the Universal Periodic Review of Nicaragua, between 2019 and 2024 the Nicaraguan state and its officials intensified and increased persecution of journalists, activists, artists, media, students, clergy, and political opponents, among others. Abuse of the justice system has become commonplace, including acts of arbitrary detention, banishment, and deprivation of citizenship, property and fundamental rights, as highlighted at the UN Human Rights Council in September by Gioconda Belli, a prominent Nicaraguan writer and President of PEN Nicaragua, now herself living in enforced exile.   

On 5 September 2024, the Nicaraguan authorities released 135 political prisoners but deported them to Guatemala, subsequently removing their citizenship and social rights. Among those released were writer and academic Freddy Antonio Quezada (see Nicaragua section below), artists Kevin Laguna Guevara and Óscar Parrilla Blandón, and journalist Víctor Ticay. PEN International also fears that journalists have been subjected to enforced disappearance; the whereabouts of Fabiola Tercero Castro, who runs ‘El Rincón de Fabi’, a cultural space for the free exchange of books, have been unknown since 12 July 2024, following a police raid on her home. Amidst the high level of persecution, PEN International also provided essential support to journalists, editors and PEN members needing to flee Nicaragua to avoid reprisals for their journalistic, cultural or human rights work. 

During 2024, PEN continued to record arbitrary arrests, persecution and censorship in Cuba against artists, writers and journalists, which was intended to silence their music, literature, theatre, visual arts, activism or academic activities. In 2024, the second phase of PEN International’s 2022 campaign Voces Presas (Incarcerated Voices) drew attention to imprisoned artists such as María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Osorbo, calling for their immediate release (see Cuba section below). Other emblematic cases illustrating the current reality in Cuba for critical voices include journalists José Gabriel Barrenechea, detained on 8 November 2024; Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca, who was released after three years in prison on 5 June 2024 on condition he leave Cuba; and journalist José Luis Tan Estrada, who was summoned and arbitrarily arrested on several occasions for his journalistic work, leading to his decision to flee the country.  

The climate of widespread fear and violence created an unprecedented human rights crisis in Venezuela before, during and after the disputed presidential election of 28 July 2024. PEN International documented persecution, censorship, restriction of social media, imposition of curfews and use of levels of control and targeted repression against journalists and protesters. As of 10 December 2024, the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad de Venezuela documented 566 press freedom violations and the deportation of 11 foreign correspondents, as well as the arbitrary detention of 14 journalists during the year, 11 since the election.  

In Guatemala, despite changes in the presidency and other government bodies, the Public Prosecutor's Office continued to persecute journalists such as José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, arbitrarily held under house arrest, raising concerns of rising attacks on press freedom (see Guatemala section below). In 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion stating that Zamora's persecution was for ‘reasons of political opinion’. 

Legal reforms increase repression online 

In Nicaragua, it remained impossible to practise independent journalism or publish books in freedom. In 2024, the authorities stepped up their persecution with a reform of the so-called Cybercrime Law, which increases penalties and the power to prosecute ‘computer crimes’ extraterritorially. The authorities also approved the General Law of Convergent Telecommunications, which empowers the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Posts (Telcor) to require licences to operate from local broadcasters and Internet content producers. 

The authorities in Cuba also pushed through new laws in 2024, such as the Law on Social Communication, criticised by local, regional and international media and organisations, which promotes the application of offences in the Penal Code to attack critical voices using social media, providing for crimes such as slander on ‘social networks’ (Article 391), becoming mercenaries for foreign armies or private military companies (Article 135), obtaining resources to finance activities against state security (Article 143) or disobedience (Article 185). 

Finally, in El Salvador, the government of President Nayib Bukele passed two laws on cybersecurity and data protection, which both pose a danger to press freedom.  

Good news 

In 2024, after almost a decade of advocacy by PEN International, with the solidarity of many PEN centres, authorities in Honduras overturned the sentence passed against Cesario Padilla, a journalist, author, and PEN Honduras member. In Brazil, the investigation into the murder of British journalist Dom Phillips, although not yet concluded, has led to the prosecution of the mastermind and those responsible for the crime. In Canada, charges of obstructing the police brought against journalist and author Brandi Morin were dropped, following campaigning by many organisations, including PEN Canada.  

In Cuba, during 2024, we celebrated the release of musician Richard Zamora and journalist Lázaro Yuri Roca Valle, joined in January 2025 by artist Jessica Lisbeth Torres Calvo and rapper Randy Arteaga. In other good news, poet Carlos Bucio Borja, was released in El Salvador after a campaign for his release by local and regional organisations, including PEN International.