International
Fopea denounces that the press receives an attack “every two days” in Milei’s Argentina
The Argentine Journalism Forum (Fopea) denounced this Tuesday that during the first year of the Government of Javier Milei there were 173 aggressions against the press, that is, “one every two days,” and most of them came from senior state officials and the president of the country himself.
“The deterioration of freedom of expression is worrying” and most attacks come in the form of “harassment and digital violence,” highlights the Fopea Freedom of Expression Monitoring in a statement that includes data and graphics, on the occasion of Milei’s first anniversary in the Argentine Government.
In 120 of those attacks, the violence came from a state source, “which implies that in 69.36% of the registered cases there was a participation of some type of public official,” Fopea added.
In addition, 22 cases of “parastatal violence, that is, of direct relatives to state power, 12.72%” were recorded.
Milei, one of the main aggressors
President Milei was the one who starred in the most aggressions against the press, 56 in total (32.37% of the total), while ten other cases were the work of national government officials (5.78%).
The rest of the aggressors were distributed among police officers, municipal, provincial and migration officials, mayors, members of the federal and provincial justice, legislators and governors.
Fopea also concludes in its analysis that of the 173 attacks, a total of 77 (44.51%) were classified as “stigmatizing speech”, that is, direct attacks on the reputation of journalists and/or media.
There were also 44 “attacks on integrity”, 23 on the “restriction of access to information”, eleven “civil or criminal judicial actions”, six cases of “censorship”, five classified as “abuse of state power”, three “attacks against property”, two of “abusive use of official advertising” and two of “internal censorship”.
The 173 cases registered by Fopea leave a trail of 275 victims, of which 153 were men, 57 women, 15 media. On other occasions, the attacks were on the press in general or on an organization of journalists.
Fopea, an organization that ensures freedom of information and quality journalism in Argentina, also denounces “the discriminatory, aggrieveing and stigmatizing tone with which the president refers to the press in general and to journalists, in particular.”
And remember that those attacks have also been carried out against international organizations.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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