International

China, Israel and Burma, the countries in the world with the most journalists imprisoned in 2024

China, Israel and Burma were the countries that imprisoned the most journalists in 2024, a year that, according to the annual census prepared by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) published this Thursday, left at least 361 communication professionals under bars worldwide.

The figure for last year, for which it was counted until December 1, is the second highest since the CPJ has records, and is close to the record of 370 journalists imprisoned in 2022.

Last year, China (50 people), Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (43) and Burma (35) were the places where more journalists were imprisoned for their work, followed by Belarus (31), Russia (30), Egypt (17), Eritrea (16), Iran (16), Vietnam (16) and Azerbaijan (13), according to the CPJ.

“The main causes of imprisonment of journalists in 2024 – the year in which more than a hundred new imprisonments occurred – were continued authoritarian repression (China, Burma, Vietnam, Belarus, Russia), war (Israel, Russia) and political or economic instability (Egypt, Nicaragua, Bangladesh),” explains this organization, based in New York, in its annual report.

Throughout this document, the CPJ recalled that countries such as China, Belarus or Burma usually appear in its classification, and criticized Israel’s role as a jailer of journalists, especially since the beginning of the war in Gaza, on October 7, 2023, more than 15 months ago.

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“Israel, a multi-party parliamentary democracy that rarely appeared in the CPJ’s annual prison census (…) catapulted to second place last year by trying to silence the coverage of the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” the organization said.

Politics, human rights and corruption are the thematic areas covered by most of the journalists imprisoned last year, according to the CPJ. A record where sports journalism and crimes/events appear with the least number of professionals under bars.

As for the alleged crimes committed by the communicators, the vast majority was accused of working to attack the Government (228 cases), others were accused of working driven by some kind of ‘reprisals’ (57), of spreading false news (41) or defamation (16), mainly.

In almost half of the cases of the 361 imprisoned journalists, the sentence is still to be resolved; while in 17% of them they were sentenced to sentences between 1-5 years; 15% between 5-10 years; and another 15% have sentences of more than 10 years.

The 2024 CPJ census also shows that 94% of the imprisoned journalists are part of the local press and that they are usually (in 61% of cases) on staff with some of these media.

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In addition, 84% of journalists taken to prison last year were men.

International

Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.

Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.

In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.

Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.

“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.

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He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.

International

Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking

Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.

Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.

The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.

“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.

International

Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing

Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.

“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.

He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.

A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.

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Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.