Overview

• José Rubén Zamora, founder of the now-defunct El Periódico, was ordered back to prison by a Guatemalan judge following the revocation of his house arrest.
• Zamora, 68, spent over 800 days in prison before being placed under house arrest in October 2023, which was overturned by an appellate court's ruling in November 2024.
• The journalist was convicted of money laundering in 2023, but the conviction was overturned, and a new trial is scheduled for 2025.
• Advocacy groups, including Amnesty International, have condemned the case as political persecution, citing Zamora's history of exposing government corruption and his criticism of former President Alejandro Giammattei.
• President Bernardo Arévalo criticized the prosecution, calling it a misuse of the judicial system, while Zamora vowed to continue resisting what he described as a 'mafia state.'