Press freedom index in Latin America & the Caribbean 2025, by country

In 2025, Trinidad and Tobago had the highest press freedom score among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Caribbean nation scored 79.71 points on a scale from 1 to 100. Jamaica followed with a score of 75.83 points. The index presents an overview of the plurality and independence of the media and how safe and free it is for journalists to do their job, with lower scores indicating a worse situation for the press and higher scores a better one. 

Press freedom laggards in the LATAM region

Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela, and Honduras had the worst results in the region in 2025 - their scores stood below 39 points. Unsurprisingly, due to the political situation in these four countries, journalism there experiences high restrictions imposed by the governments in order to stifle access to information. In one country, private press is actually prohibited by constitution – for that reason Cuba has seen only the lowest press freedom scores year after year. Honduras, one of the lowest-ranked countries on the index, has been noted to see declining press freedom scores since the coup d’etat in 2009. All in all, it comes as no surprise that trust in mass media in Latin America keeps deteriorating.

Dangers of being a journalist in Latin America

Mexico is considered the most dangerous country for journalist as it ranks high in terms of number of deaths not only in the Latin America region, but also the highest in the world. In 2022, Mexico was found to be the deadliest country for journalists worldwide, with more than 10 representatives of the press being killed that year. Although the number dropped to seven killings in 2024, the country still regularly ranks among the riskiest for media professionals. Colombia follows in the regional ranking, yet its figures remain significantly lower than those reported in Mexico.