This paper is based on a review of the literature that included reports from the Inter-American Press Association's general assembly in Los Angeles in October 1984, the mid-year meeting of the Inter-American Press Association in Panama City in March 1985, and the 1983 world press freedom review of the International Press Institute. Other material is adapted from the Index on Censorship and the Committee to Protect Journalists Update No. 10 (January-February 1984). The paper examines the current status of freedom of the press and information in Latin America and the Caribbean. Among the nations discussed are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherland Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Surinam, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The paper concludes by noting that the status of freedom of the press and of information is improving in the area, as is evident in (1) return of democracy in Argentina, (2) end of total censorship in Uruguay, and (3) maintenance of democracy in the three traditional democratic countries of Venezuela, Colombia, and Costa Rica. (HOD)