Ecuador

Since 2000, at least 338 journalists have been killed in the region, highlighting the urgent need for protection mechanisms to counter systemic violence. In a new report, RSF analysed journalist protection programs in the region, reaffirming its commitment to addressing the escalating threats against journalists.

Ecuador has become dangerous for journalists investigating corruption cases at the highest levels of state power.

Since the end of July, RSF has recorded at least six cases of attacks on journalists investigating the corruption surrounding the security crisis linked to the rise of organized crime in the country.

“The longer journalists remain in exile, the harder it can be for them to remain in the profession” – CPJ.

Villavicencio, a journalist and former legislator, had a long record of exposing corruption, human rights violations, and abuses by organized crime.

The country’s political turmoil, security crisis, and risks to press freedom escalate as elections approach.

This is an extract from the report on Ecuador, from the series of reports to come out of the research under the “Unfreedom Monitor.”

Mission to Ecuador spotlights urgent need to prioritize journalist safety.

Periodistas Sin Cadenas, Voces del Sur, Red Leal and IFEX-ALC strongly condemn the serious press freedom and freedom of expression violations that have taken place recently in Ecuador. As a result of these violations, two journalists have been forced into exile within the first few months of 2023.

Noroña met with a source who told her that the leader of a drug trafficking group had threatened to kill the journalist due to her reporting on organized crime and violence in Ecuador’s prisons.

“Everything seems to suggest that this was a planned and coordinated attack with the aim of undermining the work of the national media and sowing fear in newsrooms in general. It ratchets up the climate of insecurity and self-censorship that is becoming part of the life of journalists in Ecuador.”

President Guillermo Lasso’s threat of ‘war’ against journalists doing investigative reporting is a desperate attempt to silence them.

Arturo Torres investigates how disinformation moves in Ecuador. He uncovered 13 simultaneous disinformation campaigns driven by political interests, with the goal of weakening the government of then-president Lenin Moreno.

The Inter American Press Association condemned the attack on a television station and threats against a newspaper, which “seek to intimidate the activity of journalism.”