The Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (Feci) claims that a group of journalists and columnists from the defunct newspaper elPeriódico are routinely investigated for the crime of obstruction of justice after having given his opinion on the judicial anomalies in the case of its founder, the journalist Jose Rubén Zamora Marroquín.
For this, he filed an appeal before the Constitutional Court (CC), since the case was dismissed by other criminal instances. This Tuesday, the CC held a public hearing to evaluate that appeal.
The Prosecutor’s Office argues that the publications damaged the “honor” of former Attorney General Consuelo Porras (2018-2026), but neither the prosecutors nor the former official appeared at the hearing despite having promoted the appeal.
In the public hearing, the informants involved requested that free expression be respected after the judicial persecution suffered in recent years by the Public Ministry under the mandate of Porras, an offensive that forced several communicators into exile.
One of them, journalist Alexander Valdez, who returned to the country after three years in exile, pointed out that the CC has the opportunity to “set a precedent” and stop the criminalization of the press for the simple exercise of its informative work.
In addition to Valdez, the Prosecutor’s Office seeks to charge the former director of elPeriódico, Julia Corado, the former head of information, Gerson Ortiz, the reporters Cristian Vélix, Rony Ríos and Denis Aguilar; as well as former columnists Gonzalo Marroquín and Edgar Gutiérrez.
The Fifth Criminal Court, the Third Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) have already ratified that the case cannot be settled by criminal means, but exclusively through a Printing Court, protected by the Thought Emission Law.
The legal defense of the communicators reminded the plenary session of CC magistrates that the action of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity challenges those previously issued rulings.
“This is an administrative instance, not a criminal one, so what the various courts of justice in the country have done is that they have reiterated the guarantee of freedom of expression of thought, of freedom of the press,” said defense lawyer Wendy López.
The new attorney general of Guatemala, Gabriel García Luna, announced on May 17 the creation of a commission to review the situation of journalists, prosecutors, judges and exiled activists and those who feel “fear” of judicial persecution of Consuelo Porras, sanctioned by the US and the European Union. EFE
#CriminalizationJournalists At this time, the CC is holding a public hearing in which the Magistrates will hear the FECI’s appeal to reactivate the case against several journalists from the Newspaper.
Tune in to this one 🔗 https://t.co/vsyh8dRUyT pic.twitter.com/5M6lIXk3oA
— Truth and Justice in Guatemala (@VerdadJusticiaG) June 2, 2026
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