Democracy’s last line of defense

Guatemala is being transformed into an authoritarian regime in which corruption is the norm. The corrupt and the mafias have been co-opting all State institutions to protect themselves and maintain their reign of impunity.

President Alejandro Giammattei has restricted freedoms, systematically attacked and dismantled democratic institutions. He has also persecuted critical voices.

On July 29, Guatemalan agents raided the house of my father, a veteran, award-winning journalist José Rubén Zamora. In the same raid, my children – both minors and U.S. citizens – were also briefly detained in a violation of their rights.

The entire process, from the raid to my father’s subsequent arrest, is riddled with violations of the Constitution and due process, beginning with the lack of compliance with the legal procedural deadlines. The first hearing should have taken place no later than 24 hours after the arrest and was delayed until August 8, 216 hours after the arrest.

My father's case, this is just one more example of the Giammattei government's systematic attacks on democracy, freedom and freedom of the press. His administration began by persecuting activists, then the prosecutors and judges in charge of investigating and judging cases of corruption, and now the press.

Aged 65, my father is one of Central America's most recognized journalists for his investigations into corruption under the current and previous governments and is the founder of elPeriódico, an independent newspaper. He is the winner of several prestigious media awards, including the Maria Moors Cabot Prize from Columbia University, New York, in 1992 and the King of Spain Prize in 2021.

He was arrested on charges of supposed money laundering, conspiracy, influence peddling and blackmail in relation to alleged leaking of confidential legal information involving a former banker. My family believes the case against him is retaliation for his newspaper’s efforts to expose public corruption implicating senior government officials, including the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, and President Giammattei.

Guatemalan former prosecutors and human rights advocates say the country’s justice system has been steadily corrupted and eroded under Porras, who is accused of being a political tool of Giammattei.

Critics, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have accused her of systematically undermining democracy by obstructing anti-corruption investigations to protect government allies. In a statement, Human Rights Watch said Porras has "undermined investigations into corruption and human rights abuses, and brought arbitrary criminal prosecutions against journalists, judges, and prosecutors."

Giammattei has also been investigated for corruption involving illegal contributions to his 2019 election campaign. Government critics say Giammattei's backing for Porras is payback for her blocking that investigation.

In a country where the system is broken, and where up to now all state institutions have failed or been corrupted, the future of my father and democracy depends on the last line of defense, an impartial judge who evaluates the evidence in an objective manner and bases his ruling on the law.

Despite the unjust and shameless political persecution against my father, I am convinced that an impartial judge can stop it, and in turn sustain and strengthen democracy. The eyes of the world are on the Guatemalan justice system.

José Carlos Zamora is the U.S.-based former head of strategic communications at Univision.