Guatemala: Prominent Journalist Jailed for 6 Years

Facts

• On Wednesday, José Rubén Zamora, a veteran journalist and the founder of one of Guatemala's oldest newspapers, El Periódico, was sentenced to six years in jail on money laundering charges.¹
• Ruling that Zamora's sentence cannot be commuted, the court fined him $37.5K — the amount he is accused of having extorted from businessmen in exchange for refraining from publishing damaging information about them.²
• The 66-year-old award-winning journalist, known for exposing corruption in Guatemala, was cleared on charges of blackmail and influence peddling. He still faces two further criminal cases.³
• Zamora has been behind bars since last July. His arrest was followed by police raids on El Periódico's office and his home in Guatemala City — both were live-streamed in the national media.⁴
• In addition to Zamora, six reporters and three columnists are under investigation, while four of his defense attorneys have been detained on criminal charges. El Periódico — which has published over 200 investigations since Pres. Alejandro Giammattei took office in January 2020 — shut last month.⁵
• The Guatemalan Association of Journalists, which reported in May that at least 20 journalists had been forced to flee abroad, claims the case against Zamora is politically motivated.⁶

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²France 24, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴BBC News, ⁵Washington Post, and ⁶Associated Press.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Times. This sentence is another example of the deteriorating condition of democracy, freedom of speech, and the rule of law in Guatemala. Just days before a presidential election marred by the disqualification of opposition candidates, the country's elite, illicit networks have throttled efforts to silence those trying to hold the government to account.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Issuu. Zamora has at last been convicted after systematically lying and coercing to gain notoriety and receive advertising. A democratic society certainly requires that the media are entitled to free speech. However, this right cannot serve as a shield for unscrupulous journalists who deliberately publish fabrications to misinform the public in a clear breach of the law and journalistic ethics.

Predictions