Bernardo Arévalo sworn in as judge orders release of former prosecutor Virginia Laparra

Introduction

After months of efforts to obstruct his inauguration, Bernardo Arévalo took office as Guatemala’s president on 15th January 2024, minutes after midnight. Tensions and delays continued up to the last moments before the transfer of power, with various attempts to hinder the process. A political outsider leading a new party born out of anti-corruption protests, Arévalo now faces the enormous task of dismantling the dense web of corruption and impunity that has disfigured Guatemalan democracy.

Association

Trans activists face threats and extortion

Members of the Trans-Queens of the Night Organization (OTRANS-RN), prominent human rights defenders advocating for transgender rights, have been receiving death threats since November 2023.

On 5th January 2024, Bryanna Nicole Camey reported receiving threatening messages via WhatsApp from an unidentified person. The sender addressed her by name, referred to himself as her “executioner,” and demanded a sum of Q2,000 (USD 260). The messages included threats to approach her residence if she did not comply with the demands, and featured a detailed description as well as a photograph of her home. The following day, on 6th January 2024, Camey filed a complaint with the Anti-Extortion Prosecutor’s Office.

On 2nd February 2024, Stacy Velázquez submitted an additional report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, alleging that she had received threatening phone calls from various numbers that shared the same last four digits. However, the Prosecutor’s Office dismissed her complaint on 5th February 2024 without initiating a preliminary investigation or providing a substantive rationale for the dismissal.

On the same day, Ivania Aylin Romero reported receiving threatening messages and a phone call in which her name was used, and the sender claimed affiliation with organised crime. Romero stated that these threats began on 25th November 2023, after her involvement in events commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Virginia Laparra released after Supreme Court ruling

On 3rd January 2024, the Supreme Court’s Penal Chamber ordered the release of Virginia Laparra, a former prosecutor for Guatemala’s Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI). The ruling mandates her immediate release after nearly two years in detention. The court’s decision is based on Laparra having served almost half of her four-year, commutable sentence for an alleged abuse of authority, which would allow her to pay a fine in lieu of completing the remaining prison time.

The release of Laparra represents a significant response to sustained calls from international organisations, including CIVICUS as part of its #StandAsMyWitness global campaign.

Expression

Journalists gunned down

On 21st December 2023, armed assailants killed journalists Gleymer Renan Villeda and César Augusto Leiva Pimentel in separate attacks. Attackers targeted Villeda, a reporter with Impacto Izaba, shooting him while he drove through Izabal. Earlier that day, two men on motorcycles ambushed Leiva Pimentel, a journalist at Radio La Red and shot him as he travelled to work in Jutiapa.

These killings occurred amidst Guatemala’s severe political crisis, driven by judicial intervention in recent presidential election results. The International Federation of Journalists called on authorities for urgent investigations, urging them to consider journalism as a potential motive behind these crimes.

Prosecutor seeks data on journalists in political investigation

On 21st November 2023, La Hora disclosed a resolution issued by Judge Víctor Manuel Cruz Rivera at the request of Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, seeking data from the social media platform X concerning several user profiles. This list includes independent media outlets Ruda GT, Prensa Comunitaria and La Hora, as well as journalist Leslie Sánchez from Guatevisión and the late congresswoman Lucrecia Hernández Mack. This inquiry is connected to criminal case number 01070-2023-00023, associated with the “Toma Usac: Political Spoils” investigation.

Ruda GT and Prensa Comunitaria outlets are part of Agency Km 169 and are recognised for their commitment to human rights and feminist perspectives. Since early 2023, these media organisations have reportedly faced numerous incidents, including defamation, criminalisation, surveillance and harassment of their members, as highlighted in a public warning issued in July 2023.

In August 2023, Prosecutor Consuelo Porras filed a constitutional appeal seeking “preventive measures” to safeguard the independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, asserting that critiques on social media undermine its autonomy. Porras and the Public Prosecutor’s Office have been accused of engaging in efforts to restrict dissent by criminalising journalists, protesters and media figures who publicly question governmental actions.

Court clears Maya Q’eqchi’ journalist

On 31st January 2024, the Pluripersonal Court of First Instance for Criminal, Narcoactivity and Environmental Offenses in Izabal ruled in favour of Carlos Ernesto Choc Chub, a Maya Q’eqchi’ human rights defender and community journalist, along with three artisanal fishers, by dismissing charges of illegal detention against them and formally closing the case during the preliminary dismissal stage.

Previously, on 25th March 2022, Prensa Comunitaria Kilómetro 169 members were informed that Choc Chub faced a new complaint lodged by 13 members of the National Civil Police (PNC) and prosecutors from the Public Ministry (MP) in Morales, Izabal. The complaint alleged “incitement to commit crimes” in connection with incidents reportedly occurring on 22nd and 23rd October 2021 in El Estor. These dates correspond with a period marked by violence and state repression in response to demands for the right to consultation and protests against the Russian-Swiss mining company, Solway Investment Group.

Peaceful Assembly

Journalists stage sit-in to protest persecution and censorship

On 30th November 2023, The “WeWillNotBeSilenced” (NoNosCallarán) collective organised a peaceful sit-in outside the public prosecutor's office in Guatemala , an act of solidarity with exiled colleagues and journalists facing imprisonment and persecution.

This sit-in, held annually over the past two years, highlights the judicial harassment that the journalistic profession continues to endure. Social communicators, journalists, media directors and columnists attended, all noting that National Journalist’s Day in Guatemala now symbolises a sombre reflection on the country’s waning freedom of expression.