During the period, several incidents affected freedom of expression and the exercise of journalism, including extremely serious developments such as the killings of two journalists, threats against media workers, arrests and possible acts of criminalization, as well as attempts by government officials under President Bernardo Arévalo to restrict access to public information.
The most serious development was the killing of two journalists in different parts of the country. In both cases, the motives remain unknown.
Carlos Humberto Cal Ical, a community journalist, was killed on April 26 in San Cristóbal Verapaz, Alta Verapaz. He contributed to Radio Tezulutlán, Stereo Gerardi, Al Día, and Noticias La Esfinge Cobán. The motive for the killing remains unknown.
Evelio Lisandro López Sánchez, 34, was killed on October 2 in San Pedro Necta, Huehuetenango. He had publicly reported receiving death threats related to his journalistic work. He managed the Facebook page Huehue Es Noticias HNT2 and was an active member of the Huehuetenango Press Association.
Concerns also arose over access to public information. The Ministry of Public Finance modified the information available through the Guatecompras public procurement portal, which enables citizens, journalists, and civil society organizations to scrutinize government contracts and purchases conducted through public tenders and direct procurement. The changes made it more difficult to determine whether an individual was connected to one or more companies or individual suppliers doing business with the State, thereby limiting the ability of journalists and civil society organizations to monitor and analyze public procurement. Following several weeks of criticism from media outlets and civil society organizations specializing in economic and public-policy analysis, the government reversed the decision and restored public access to the information.
On August 13, Rodrigo Arenas, president and editor of the digital news outlet República, publicly reported an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting him, José Fernando Orellana, the outlet’s director general, and Alejandro Palmieri, its political editor. Arenas said the alleged threats were linked to the outlet’s reporting on political figures purportedly connected to drug trafficking. República subsequently accused presidential hopeful Roberto Arzú García-Granados and lawmakers Luis Contreras, Luis Aguirre, Nery Ramos, and César Fión of involvement in the alleged plot. Those named in the allegations denied the accusations, and some announced legal action against Arenas and the outlet.
The case also raised concerns regarding the legal mechanisms applicable to disputes arising from journalistic publications. Article 35 of the Constitution and Guatemala’s Law on the Expression of Thought establish special protections and procedures for matters involving publications, including proceedings before a Tribunal de Imprenta, rather than ordinary criminal prosecution in cases covered by those provisions. The controversy therefore prompted concerns about ensuring that complaints arising from journalistic activity are handled in accordance with the constitutional safeguards governing freedom of expression and the press.
Business organizations and the United States Embassy expressed concern over the reported threats and called for investigations and measures to protect the journalists involved. Arenas subsequently left the country with his family, while Orellana and Palmieri received state protection. The Special Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime is investigating the case under seal.
In early September, Red Rompe el Miedo released its semiannual report documenting 51 cases involving 73 acts of aggression against journalists, social communicators, and media outlets. The organization reported restrictions on access to information sources, information blockades, intimidation, verbal threats, smear campaigns, digital violence, physical attacks, and alleged instances of criminalization.
On September 1, Sonny Figueroa, a journalist with the digital outlet Vox Populi, was detained by the National Civil Police. The detention occurred while Figueroa and fellow journalist Marvin Del Cid were conducting an investigation involving alleged irregular business activities linked to sitting lawmakers. According to accounts of the incident, Figueroa’s telephone, computer, and bicycle were seized, and he alleged that he was physically assaulted while being transported to court. He was subsequently released after judicial proceedings. The National Civil Police maintained that the detention was unrelated to his journalistic work. The Association of Journalists of Guatemala (APG), however, expressed concern and said the circumstances could constitute acts of intimidation and criminalization against journalists.
Also in early September, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford published the findings of an independent study examining a coordinated campaign on X against journalist José Rubén Zamora, founder and director of the now-defunct newspaper elPeriódico. Conducted by researcher Harald Waxenecker, the study analyzed 675,835 interactions related to Zamora’s case between July 2022 and January 2026. Although most of the posts analyzed were supportive of the journalist, the research identified a structured and strategically amplified pattern of hostile content aimed at discrediting Zamora, portraying his detention as the consequence of established criminal conduct, and framing his journalistic work as an illegal activity warranting prosecution and imprisonment.
The study identified a relatively small but highly active network at the center of the campaign. Of the 95,265 accounts that interacted with content related to Zamora’s case, 44 were identified as “agenda-setters” that initiated hostile narratives subsequently repeated and amplified by other accounts. The research also documented attacks targeting Zamora’s family and found that hostile activity intensified around significant developments in his legal proceedings.
Zamora spent more than three years in pretrial detention before being allowed to serve house arrest in February 2026. In July, Guatemala’s Constitutional Court ordered his release, although he remains subject to other criminal proceedings.
On October 17, Guatemalan lawyer and former prosecutor Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa was murdered. He had used social media to denounce corruption and drug trafficking. The crime, committed at a sports complex in Guatemala City in the presence of his son, shocked the country and renewed concerns about criminal violence being used to silence critical voices.
