MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ecuador military accused of restricting press access; HRW condemn

According to that report, the head of the Joint Command of Ecuador’s armed forces, Henry Delgado, would have instructed commanders on Jan. 28 to evaluate journalists for any coverage

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday warned of an “attack on freedom of expression and information” after the disclosure of alleged parameters issued by Ecuador’s armed forces to restrict coverage by media outlets deemed critical, EFE reported.

Juanita Goebertus, HRW’s Americas director, wrote on X that excluding media or journalists from coverage based on an institution’s view that their stance is “opposed” or “harmful to its image” undermines core freedoms.

According to that report, the head of the Joint Command of Ecuador’s armed forces, Henry Delgado, would have instructed commanders on Jan. 28 to evaluate journalists for any coverage and to avoid accrediting outlets and communicators whose position, in his view, could damage the institution’s image.

Goebertus said the measures “filter media by editorial line, punish criticism, seek to control public discourse and censor the press,” and described them as practices typical of institutions that “fear public scrutiny.”

Ecuadorian press-freedom groups also criticized the alleged guidelines. Fundamedios called them “an act of prior censorship” and said they amount to “the imposition of an unacceptable state of prior censorship incompatible with a democratic society,” according to EFE.

The Journalists Without Chains Foundation said the provisions “harm the practice of journalism” by seeking to rate media with “arbitrary, subjective and opaque” criteria and demanded they be repealed, EFE added.

Asked about the measure, Ecuador’s Defense Ministry said the armed forces have the “authority to issue their own communication guidelines,” but that this does not exempt them from providing transparent and timely information about actions taken in defense of the country, and it reaffirmed a commitment to press freedom, EFE reported.