Guatemala

GUATEMALA Self-censorship and harassment of the news media and their employees cloud the practice of the profession in Guatemala, where journalists still fear repression and exile. Some journalists say the situation hinders the investigation of delicate cases, such as the crime against anthropologist Mirna Mack last year allegedly at the hands of several military men. Relevant recent events include: Following frequent visits by armed men, continuing telephone threats, and an attack on his father, Néstor Fernández, 25, a reporter for the morning newspaper Prensa Libre, left the country on May 27 with his family to seek exile in Canada. His difficulties began at the end of 1991 when a group of journalists was abused by soldiers during a trip to the interior of the country and Prensa Libre published the picture of the officer in charge of the troops. The same day Hernández left Guatemala, security forces damaged the equipment of several reporters covering the extradition of alleged drug trafficker Evelio Quiroz Dávila to the United States. On June 19, journalist Ricardo Castro, who hosts a program on a government radio station, was shot. On June 23, a series of incidents of harassment appeared to reopen the period of crisis for journalism in the country and led to widespread national and international complaints about restrictions on the press in Guatemala. U.S. Ambassador Thomas Stroock suggested there was government pressure on a television programo "There has been pressure to close 'Libre Encuentro' and death threats that come from the Presidential Cuard, " said journalist Dionisio Gutiérrez, who feels he is a victim of an official campaign aimed at terminating his program aired on Sundays on Channel 13 TV.