Globally, democratic values are under assault. This is also true in parts of Central America, where leaders and criminal organizations are silencing public debate and quashing criticism, including by trampling on the rights of the region’s independent news media. In recent months, one of El Salvador’s most prominent media companies relocated to Costa Rica citing “attacks against press freedom,” and in Guatemala, a major newspaper shut down following the arrest of its founder.

At last year’s Summit of the Americas, in Los Angeles, USAID Administrator Samantha Power launched “Voices,” an initiative jointly led by the U.S. Department of State, to strengthen civil society in Central America and support the U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America. The “Voices” initiative is designed in part to increase support for Central America’s journalists, critical watchdogs who draw attention to democratic backsliding and public corruption.

The Wilson Center’s Latin America Program, the U.S. Department of State, USAID and the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States hosted our second dialogue in a series of conversations about the “Voices” initiative. These dialogues involve dsenior U.S. government officials and civil society leaders from Central America that Under Secretary Uzra Zeya has called the “building blocks of democracy.” The next event, addressing threats to freedom of expression and the independent media, took place on the margins of the OAS General Assembly. It featured analysis from influential journalists from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua about the increasing obstacles to their investigative reporting.