Punta Cana.- The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Pedro Vaca Villarreal, warned that it is increasingly difficult to find positive examples of press freedom in the Americas. His remarks were made during the 81st General Assembly of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Vaca highlighted concerning situations in Guatemala, El Salvador, and the United States, pointing out that journalists are imprisoned in Guatemala for doing their jobs, while El Salvador has made “confidentiality the rule rather than the exception” by restricting access to public information. He also criticized new Pentagon regulations in the United States that hinder journalists’ work.

The rapporteur expressed concern about a growing regional trend of “tolerance for abuse” and warned that irresponsible or discriminatory discourse by political leaders erodes public trust. Panelists Andrés Mompotes, director of El Tiempo (Colombia), and Daniel Dessen, president of La Gaceta (Argentina), echoed these concerns, noting the weakening of democratic values and persistent efforts to delegitimize the press. Despite these challenges, Dessen emphasized that failed censorship attempts in Argentina demonstrate that “there are still reasons for optimism.”