Hundreds of print media directors and journalists gathered this week in Buenos Aires for an annual conference on press freedom in the Americas.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez used the occasion for his government to organize another one of its counter gatherings. The parallel summit organized by the Venezuelan embassy was reportedly held to discuss “media monopolies and the unification of public opinion” in Latin America, with participants coming from Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, and Honduras. There is really nothing new or surprising about Chávez’ action. This is the president who, when the group met in Caracas last year, staged a “mock trial” in protest, charging the Miami-based Inter American Press Association (IAPA) with “media terrorism.”

The IAPA has routinely condemned Chávez’ treatment of independent media, and the 65^th annual General Assembly that began November 6 was no exception. Conclusions drawn from five days of meetings included concern that he has exported an extreme ideology that “threatens press freedoms across the region.”

But Chávez was not the primary concern expressed at the IAPA General Assembly. The highest number of journalist deaths in the Americas in recent history—including attacks in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, and El Salvador— was top on the list.