A state judge ruled Tuesday that any article published by Tribuna in which the governor is mentioned must be approved by the court.

In addition, the judge directed González, who was the editorial director of the newspaper for 30 years until his retirement in 2017, to submit to the court for review any future material in which Sensores is mentioned.

“The verdict against Jorge Luis González and Tribuna is nothing less than a gag order that constitutes a clear case of the courts siding with a state governor in overt efforts to silence any critical reporting of her administration,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative. “CPJ is alarmed by the sharp increase in lawfare against critical media in Mexico, where journalists continue to be attacked with almost complete impunity.”

The ruling by the Campeche state court is only the latest episode in the ongoing legal assault by Sansores on Tribuna and González, both of whom she sued on June 13, 2025, accusing them of spreading hatred and causing moral damages in coverage of her administration.

It is unclear which specific reports caused the governor to sue Tribuna, González told CPJ. It is also unclear why the lawsuit targets González, as he is no longer with the paper after his retirement in 2017. 

A previous ruling ordered González to pay “moral damages” of $2 million pesos (about USD$110,000) to Sansores and prohibited both the reporter and Tribuna from mentioning the governor in any reports, according to news reports. That sentence was suspended on July 9, after González successfully filed an injunction, which CPJ has reviewed, citing the Mexican Constitution’s prohibition of censorship before publication.

González said he planned to appeal, but it wasn’t immediately clear what strategies were available to him.

Several calls by CPJ to Sansores’ office for comment were unanswered.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Jan-Albert Hootsen/CPJ Mexico Representative.

A state judge ruled Tuesday that any article published by Tribuna in which the governor is mentioned must be approved by the court.

In addition, the judge directed González, who was the editorial director of the newspaper for 30 years until his retirement in 2017, to submit to the court for review any future material in which Sensores is mentioned.

“The verdict against Jorge Luis González and Tribuna is nothing less than a gag order that constitutes a clear case of the courts siding with a state governor in overt efforts to silence any critical reporting of her administration,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative. “CPJ is alarmed by the sharp increase in lawfare against critical media in Mexico, where journalists continue to be attacked with almost complete impunity.”

The ruling by the Campeche state court is only the latest episode in the ongoing legal assault by Sansores on Tribuna and González, both of whom she sued on June 13, 2025, accusing them of spreading hatred and causing moral damages in coverage of her administration.

It is unclear which specific reports caused the governor to sue Tribuna, González told CPJ. It is also unclear why the lawsuit targets González, as he is no longer with the paper after his retirement in 2017. 

A previous ruling ordered González to pay “moral damages” of $2 million pesos (about USD$110,000) to Sansores and prohibited both the reporter and Tribuna from mentioning the governor in any reports, according to news reports. That sentence was suspended on July 9, after González successfully filed an injunction, which CPJ has reviewed, citing the Mexican Constitution’s prohibition of censorship before publication.

González said he planned to appeal, but it wasn’t immediately clear what strategies were available to him.

Several calls by CPJ to Sansores’ office for comment were unanswered.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Jan-Albert Hootsen/CPJ Mexico Representative.

“Armed forces should not weaponize the judicial system to silence the press,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America program coordinator, based in São Paulo. “Targeting journalists with defamation charges and coercing media to reveal sources threaten press freedom and undermine democracy. Honduran authorities must immediately end these intimidation tactics.”

Gen. Roosevelt Hernández ordered military lawyers to file criminal defamation complaints against the media outlets in November 2024, according to a report by Honduran newspaper La Prensa. 

Hondudiario’s editorial team told Reportar sin Medio, a Honduran news site, that the request came following its Oct. 30, 2024 report on internal divisions within the Honduran Armed Forces, including allegations that Hernández’s received government-funded medical treatment abroad for a heart condition.

The Honduras prosecutor’s office accepted the complaints, and law enforcement notified newsrooms that they were being investigated in late January 2025, La Prensa reported.

According to news reports, outlets under investigation include newspapers El Heraldo, La Prensa, La Tribuna, Hondudiario, Criterio HN, radio stations Radio Cadena Voces, Radio América, Abriendo Brecha, and TV outlets CHTV, Hable Como Habla, Q’Hubo TV, and Noticias 24/7.

Hernández confirmed that he had initiated the complaints but denied that they were meant to intimidate journalists, reported La Prensa.

Honduras’ penal code criminalizes defamation with prison terms up to one year and fines ranging from 200 to 1,000 days of salary for alleged false accusations in “reckless disregard for the truth.” The law imposes harsher penalties for statements made through print, television, radio, or digital platforms, a category referred to as “defamation with publicity.”

CPJ’s requests for comment from the Honduran Armed Forces, National Police, Public Ministry, and Security Ministry did not receive any reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

In the morning of October 10, unidentified individuals dressed in police uniforms kidnapped Andino from his home in Comayagüela, northwest of the capital of Tegucigalpa, and later shot and killed him, according to a report by the Honduran free expression group C-Libre and news reports. Andino’s body was found on the street near his home, with his mouth taped shut and gunshot wounds to his face.

The journalist’s father, Edwin Emilio Andino, whom assailants took from the same home hours before, was found shot and killed in a different neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, according to those reports.

Andino, 23, graduated from journalism school in 2021 and worked as a producer for afternoon shows on the national La Tribuna TV (LTV) station, according to news reports and a statement from the outlet. LTV director Raúl Morazán told AFP that Andino had worked for the channel for two years and was unaware of any threats against the journalist.

“Honduran authorities should thoroughly investigate the killing of Edwin Josué Andino and his father and determine if it was related to his work as a journalist,” said Natalie Southwick, CPJ’s Latin America and the Caribbean program coordinator, in New York. “The Honduran government must end the impunity that has prevailed in the killings of journalists for so many years by conducting a swift and credible investigation that identifies all of those responsible and brings them to justice.”

On October 12, police said two cars used by the shooters, which were found in a warehouse with plastic handcuffs, tape, and traces of blood, were taken to the forensic examiners, according to news reports.

On October 15 and 18, police arrested several people with alleged ties to the Barrio 18 gang, including four who are allegedly connected to the killing of Andino and his father, according to multiple news reports. 

Police chief Gustavo Sánchez told media outlets that mobile devices confiscated from the suspects included “technical and scientific” evidence that at least three of the individuals were involved in killing the pair, according to those reports.

Security Minister Ramon Sabillon told CPJ via messaging app that police investigations were still ongoing.

Since 1992, at least eight journalists in Honduras have been murdered in connection with their work, according to CPJ research. CPJ is investigating the killings of 28 other journalists to determine if they were work-related.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.