Guatemala’s Zamora detained 3 years; groups demand his release
July 29, 2025, marks 1,095 days since the beginning of the arbitrary detention of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora, founder of elPeriódico and one of the most prominent voices in journalism in Guatemala and Latin America. Zamora was arrested in 2022 following a raid in which he was not informed of the charges against him. In less than 72…
CPJ, partners publish report on threats to community journalism in Guatemala
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined seven other press freedom and human rights organizations—including ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America, Reporters Without Borders, and Protection International—in releasing a report documenting systemic threats to community journalism in Guatemala. The report is based on a fact-finding mission carried out between October 2024 and January 2025, with investigators…
Guatemalan journalist Quimy de León subject to smear campaign involving CPJ
Mexico City, April 16, 2025—A Facebook account named “Melvin Veum” launched a paid advertising smear campaign on Monday, April 14, that used CPJ’s logo to legitimize false narratives against Guatemalan journalist Quimy de León, director of independent news website Prensa Comunitaria and recipient of CPJ’s 2024 International Press Freedom Award. The post featured two images…
Community journalist in Guatemala shot to death by unidentified assailants
Mexico City, April 15, 2025—Guatemalan authorities must investigate the killing of community journalist Ismael Alonzo González, determine whether he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Friday, March 21, Alonzo was outside his home in the western city of Quetzaltenango when two unidentified…
Guatemalan journalist Nelton Rivera targeted by smear, threat campaign
Mexico City, April 8, 2025—Guatemalan authorities must investigate and stop the coordinated online smear campaign against journalist Nelton Rivera and ensure that he and his colleagues at Prensa Comunitaria and Ruda can report freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Since February, social media accounts known in Guatemala as “net centers” have…
CPJ, partners call for Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora’s release
The Committee to Protect Journalists and eight other international organizations call for the immediate and unconditional release of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora and urgent guarantees of due process. Judge Erick García ordered Zamora’s return to prison on March 10, executing a appeals court order that revoked the journalist’s house arrest. At the hearing, García reported threats…
CPJ calls for release of José Rubén Zamora after Guatemala judge orders the journalist back to jail
The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces Monday’s court ruling to revoke the house arrest of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora and send him back to prison. “The decision to return journalist José Rubén Zamora to prison is a blatant act of judicial persecution. This case represents a dangerous escalation in the repression of independent journalism,”…
José Rubén Zamora could be sent back to jail on January 13
São Paulo, January 10, 2025—Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora could go back to jail this Monday if the country’s Supreme Court doesn’t agree to hear an appeal made by his defense, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday. Zamora, 67, spent 813 days in prison, accused of money laundering, until he was granted house…
Guatemala issues arrest warrant for exiled journalist Juan Luis Font
Mexico City, December 11, 2024—Guatemalan authorities issued an arrest warrant on December 6 for journalist Juan Luis Font on charges of collusion and passive bribery. Font, co-director of the news radio show Con Criterio, has been living in exile since 2022 and told CPJ the charges stem from an old case that authorities have repeatedly…
CPJ, 24 other organizations release report on state censorship in the Americas
Twenty-four civil society organizations working in seven Latin American countries, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, released a November 2024 report titled “Impact of state censorship measures on the right to freedom of expression in the Americas,” which included information provided during the 190th regular session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in July 2024. The press freedom groups work in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador,…