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  • Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office Must Cease Intimidation of the Media and Respect Freedom of the Press
9 de April de 2025 Press Release

Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office Must Cease Intimidation of the Media and Respect Freedom of the Press

Washington, D.C., April 8, 2025. The undersigned organizations condemn the disinformation campaign and unfounded criminalization against the media outlets Prensa Comunitaria and La Ruda, whose community-based and feminist journalism work in Guatemala is fundamental to the country’s democracy.

The Public Prosecutor’s (MP) – under the leadership of María Consuelo Porras – has severely undermined the rule of law, justice, and human rights in Guatemala by prosecuting and criminalizing critical voices that have fought against corruption and impunity. Instead of being an institution that guarantees the country’s rule of law and providing justice to the population, the MP has become a tool of repression,

Prensa Comunitaria and La Ruda have published investigations that have exposed large corruption schemes and the mechanisms used by powerful groups to co-opt the justice system, in addition to patterns of criminalization perpetrated by the MP. Now, they are facing unfounded lawsuits and intimidation, with threats of opening new legal proceedings against their organizations.

We urge the Public Prosecutor’s Office to respect the rule of law and press freedom in the country and to refrain from continuing to pursue spurious cases against human rights defenders and journalists, as it did with the renowned journalist Jose Rubén Zamora. We also call on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to analyze the risk situation for the journalists of Prensa Comunitaria and La Ruda and examine their situation and request for precautionary measures to protect their lives and physical integrity.

Signatory organizations:

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).

Due Process Foundation (DPLF)

Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)

Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA (GHRC)

Latin America Working Group (LAWG)

Amnesty International

American Jewish World Service (AJWS)

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Article 19