Central America
Guatemalan court decides Wednesday whether to convict journalist José Rubén Zamora
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.
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.
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.
Central America
OAS urges swift recount in Honduras as election results remain uncertain
The Organization of American States (OAS) electoral observation mission in Honduras reported findings of a “lack of expertise” and “delays” in the vote-counting process, but stated that it found no indications that would cast doubt on the results of the November 30 general elections, according to a report presented to the organization’s Permanent Council.
The delay by electoral authorities in releasing the final results “is not justifiable,” said former Paraguayan foreign minister Eladio Loizaga while reading the report.
Honduras marked two weeks on Monday without knowing who its next president will be, following elections in which conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, holds a lead of less than two percentage points over fellow right-wing contender Salvador Nasralla.
Accusations of fraud have dominated Honduras’ political landscape since polls closed on the last Sunday of November.
In addition to Nasralla’s complaints, the current government led by leftist President Xiomara Castro has described Trump’s support for Asfura as an “electoral coup.”
The U.S. president has warned of “serious consequences” if the current results were to change and strip Asfura, a 67-year-old businessman, of his lead.
Although more than 99 percent of the votes have been counted, nearly 2,800 tally sheets contain “inconsistencies” and must be reviewed through a special recount, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said.
“The Mission urgently calls on the electoral authorities to immediately begin the special recount and to pursue all possible avenues to obtain official results as quickly as possible. The current delay in processing and publishing the results is not justifiable,” the head of the OAS mission told members of the organization.
Central America
Panama seizes over three tons of drugs hidden in Caribbean port container
Panama’s National Air and Naval Service (Senan) reported on Sunday the seizure of more than three metric tons of drugs that were concealed inside a shipping container at a port terminal on the country’s Caribbean coast.
According to a statement posted on X, Panamanian aeronaval authorities confirmed the confiscation of 3,205 packages of a suspected illicit substance hidden inside a container in transit through Panama, at a port facility in the Caribbean province of Colón. Each package typically weighs approximately one kilogram.
Earlier this week, Senan agents also seized an additional 2.2 metric tons of drugs and arrested five individuals, including a Colombian national, in separate operations linked to drug trafficking activities.
Panama serves as a major transit route for drugs produced in South America and destined mainly for the United States — the world’s largest consumer of cocaine — and Europe. According to official figures, Panamanian authorities seized approximately 80 metric tons of illicit substances in 2024.
Central America
Honduras election crisis deepens as CNE president denounces intimidation attempts
Tegucigalpa remains engulfed in a deep post-electoral crisis, marked by the absence of final results from the general elections held on November 30. On Thursday, the presiding counselor of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Ana Paola Hall, publicly denounced acts of intimidation that she warned could jeopardize the final phase of the process.
Following a meeting with the G-16+ diplomatic corps, Hall expressed concern over two specific incidents: a call by former president Manuel Zelaya summoning supporters of the Libre Party to gather outside the INFOP facilities—where electoral records and materials are being safeguarded—and a statement issued by the Permanent Commission of Congress accusing her and counselor Cossette López of alleged electoral crimes, an action she described as “baseless and outside their jurisdiction.”
Hall reaffirmed her institutional commitment and warned that she will not allow interference in the announcement of the results. “Honduras comes first,” she emphasized, underscoring her intention to defend the electoral process as a cornerstone of democracy.
Meanwhile, the preliminary results place Nasry ‘Tito’ Asfura, candidate of the National Party, in the lead with 40.52%of the vote, followed closely by Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, with 39.48%. The ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada of Libre, is in third place with 19.29%. Around 0.6% of the tally sheets—many of them showing inconsistencies—have yet to be reviewed.
The Organization of American States (OAS) called an extraordinary session of its Permanent Council to analyze the situation, while civil organizations and governments such as Paraguay’s urged respect for the popular will.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro accused the United States, and specifically former president Donald Trump, of obstructing the process, while also denouncing threats from gangs against voters aligned with her party.
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