Central America

Guatemalan court decides Wednesday whether to convict journalist José Rubén Zamora

Photo: Prensa Libre

June 14 |

A Guatemalan court will decide this Wednesday whether to sentence journalist José Rubén Zamora, nationally and internationally recognized for his investigations on corruption and a strong critic of the government of President Alejandro Giammattei, accused of money laundering, extortion and influence peddling.

The sentence comes after several organizations denounced an escalation of authoritarianism in the country that includes the persecution of journalists and judicial officials and the exclusion of candidates who are not part of the traditional political forces.

The 66 year-old journalist has said he is innocent of the prosecution’s accusations and was tried without the court allowing evidence to be presented in his favor. Cinthia Monterroso is the prosecutor accusing him.

Zamora was director of El Periódico, a newspaper that closed its doors on May 15 under political and financial pressures, in which he exposed the accusations against Monterroso for abuse of power for allegedly using his position to investigate the unfaithful husband of a friend, among other allegations.

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Monterroso asked the court that Zamora be sentenced to 40 years in prison for allegedly laundering bribe money and influence peddling and asked for aggravated sentences for “contempt for authority” for the journalist’s publications about the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, and the head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity, Rafael Curruchiche, both sanctioned by the US government for hindering the anti-corruption fight and undermining democracy in the country.

According to the prosecutor, Zamora asked his friend Ronald García Navarijo, a former banker accused of corruption, to deposit more than $30,000 in cash in a bank. Instead of doing so, he denounced Zamora.

Zamora’s defense claims that the money was the proceeds of a donation and that the journalist did not deposit it in an account of his own to avoid it becoming known who the donor was due to government pressure on El Periódico.

Meanwhile, Zamora’s family has said that what triggered the journalist’s imprisonment was the publication of a case known as “The Russian Plot”, according to which President Giammattei allegedly received bribes from Russian businessmen in exchange for benefits in mega-project concessions.

National and international press and human rights organizations have pointed out that the case against Zamora is a criminalization of journalism in Guatemala and have requested his release.

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Although the prosecutor’s office has said that there is no persecution against the press, it asked Judge Jimi Bremer to authorize investigations against nine journalists from El Periódico for their publications about judges and prosecutors who had allegedly failed in the process against Zamora.

The prosecutor’s office has also charged Zamora in two other cases, one of them for falsification of documents for allegedly having incorrectly signed immigration tickets when leaving or entering the country.

Judge Bremer himself, at the request of the prosecutor’s office headed by Monterroso, is the one who has ordered the initiation of this investigation.

Zamora has received awards such as the Maria Moors Cabot Award from Columbia University, the International Press Freedom Award and the World Press Freedom Hero Award from the International Press Institute.

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Related Topics:Guatemala José Rubén Zamora

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Gunfire and protests mark controversial rector reelection at Guatemala’s USAC

University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC), which serves around 200,000 students, plays a key role in the selection of top judicial authorities in Guatemala, including positions within the prosecutor’s office and other institutions often questioned over corruption.

The reelection of the university’s rector on Wednesday was marred by gunfire and clashes outside the hotel where the vote took place in Antigua Guatemala, west of the capital. Authorities reported no injuries following the unrest.

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Honduras coffee exports jump nearly 30% in March despite price drop

Coffee exports from Honduras rose by 29.6% year-on-year in March, according to data released Monday by the Instituto Hondureño del Café.

During the third month of the 2025–2026 harvest season, Honduras exported 1,373,817 46-kilogram bags of coffee, up from 1,059,744 bags shipped in March of the previous cycle.

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Central America

Guatemala extends state of prevention and expands it to new regions

The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, announced on Monday that his government will extend the state of prevention for 15 more days in six departments and expand the measure to two additional regions as part of efforts to combat organized crime.

Speaking at a press conference, Arévalo said the decision was approved by the Cabinet and formalized through a decree. The measure will remain in place in the departments of Guatemala, Escuintla, Izabal, Petén, San Marcos, and Huehuetenango, and will now also apply to Sacatepéquez and Quetzaltenango.

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