Central America
The situation of Guatemalan journalists exiled in the last four years is “very critical”
Journalist and defender of freedom of expression Evelyn Blanck warns that the reporters who have been forced to leave Guatemala are in a “very critical” situation and that there are still no conditions for them to return to the country, despite the positive turn in the press that has been given with the Government of the new President Bernardo Arévalo de León.
Blanck is the coordinator of the Civitas Center, an organization that seeks to ensure the freedom of the press in the Central American country and that has coordinated support for more than twenty journalists who have had to go into exile, after denouncing political persecution against her in the last four years.
“Colleagues in exile are in a critical situation,” the journalist warns in an interview with EFE and assures that among the twenty colleagues who were forced to leave Guatemala in recent years, there are three mothers who are separated from their children and many others who struggle to find conditions to continue practicing journalism.
Several of them “are struggling to survive because they came out with emergency funds, with financing for three months and they never have anything guaranteed,” says this journalist with more than 30 years of experience.
According to an analysis by the social organization Red Rompe El Silencio, 44% of Guatemalan journalists exiled have had to stop exercising their profession and most are refugees in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and seven other countries.
This crisis of “political persecution” against the press in several Central American countries revealed that there is no comprehensive system of care for journalists who are forced to leave their country, says the activist.
“The only thing we have left is to try to work with the Central American network of journalism solutions so that colleagues have conditions to stay outside because today Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Nicaraguan exiles cannot return,” Blanck concludes.
Journalists Juan Luis Font, director of the radio program Con Criterio and Michelle Mendoza, who was a correspondent for the CNN network in Guatemala, top the list of Guatemalan communicators who have had to go into exile.
In Blanck’s opinion, the Government of the new president of Guatemala exhibits “an institutional discourse that recognizes the work of the press, although its ability to maneuver is very little because the State is still co-opted.”
“Of course there is tension, but it is different from the administrations of Alejandro Giammattei (2020-2024) and Jimmy Morales (2016-2020), where there was an absolute public contempt for the press and that is over,” says the journalist.
According to the Association of Journalists of Guatemala (APG), during the administration of Giammattei there were more than 400 attacks on the press by public officials, and the vast majority of these were dismissed and not investigated by the authorities.
That is why Blanck refers to the Government of Arévalo de León as “a respite that we do not know how long it will last,” and warns that there are no conditions for journalists who left the country under persecution to return while the co-optation of the Judicial Body and the Public Ministry (Public Prosecutor’s Office) persists.
“Doing journalism in Guatemala has always been facing a country of censorship, it is facing power. This is one of the most difficult countries to do quality journalism,” says Blanck.
The Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Consuelo Porras Argueta, has led several cases against communicators in recent years and the most emblematic is that of José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, an internationally recognized journalist who was arrested on July 29, 2022, a few days after launching criticism against the close circle of the then president, Alejandro Giammattei.
Zamora Marroquín, who recently served 600 days in prison, is still waiting for the repetition of the trial against him for an alleged money laundering case and indicated that since the arrival of Arévalo de León to power in January, he has been guaranteed decent conditions in his arrest.
Central America
U.S. Defense Secretary to Close Multinational Military Exercises in Panama to Protect Canal
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will travel to Panama next week to close multinational military exercises involving more than 20 countries aimed at strengthening security measures for the Panama Canal against potential threats, a Panamanian government official announced Monday.
This will mark Hegseth’s second visit to Panama. The U.S. defense chief is expected to arrive on August 13 for the closing ceremony of the military drills, which began this week and have been conducted in the Central American country for more than two decades to support the protection of the interoceanic waterway, according to Panama’s Security Minister Frank Ábrego.
The exercises include participation from the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru and the United Kingdom, among other nations.
“The canal is a strategic infrastructure that connects markets and supports global supply chains. Its security and uninterrupted operation are of fundamental importance for Panama, the United States and the international community,” said U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Marino Cabrera.
The drills include maritime training operations, exercises in jungle areas surrounding the canal, as well as virtual simulations focused on cybersecurity and strategic planning.
The Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes, handles approximately 5% of global maritime commerce, making its security a priority for international trade and logistics networks.
Ábrego emphasized that preparedness and international coordination are essential to maintaining stability.
“The best way to preserve peace and guarantee the continuity of global trade is to be prepared to respond in a coordinated and effective manner to any threat,” the Panamanian official said.
Central America
Prosecutors Accuse Ex-Defense Minister of Undermining Press Freedom in Honduras
Honduras’ Public Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday filed criminal charges against retired General Roosevelt Hernández, the country’s former defense minister and former chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, over his alleged role in actions that prosecutors say undermined press freedom and freedom of expression.
Prosecutors said the case was brought by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Protection of Journalists, Social Communicators, Human Rights Defenders and Justice Officials following an investigation into content published between 2025 and 2026 on a digital media platform operated by the Honduran Armed Forces.
According to the investigation, the publications were reported by journalists and the Honduran Journalists Association (CPH), which described them as part of an alleged campaign to discredit members of the press and media organizations.
The case dates back to May 2025, when the CPH filed complaints with national and international organizations after the Armed Forces referred to three journalists as “hitmen” in an article published by FF.AA. Digital. The association argued that the publication endangered the journalists’ safety and constituted an attack on press freedom.
The journalists identified in the publication as “hitmen of the truth” were Rodrigo Wong Arévalo, director of the television news program Abriendo Brecha; Dagoberto Rodríguez, director of Radio Cadena Voces; and Juan Carlos Sierra, president of the Honduran Journalists Association. The article also included photographs of the three journalists and the CPH’s logo.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said the case file includes formal complaints, pretrial investigative proceedings, a specialized forensic analysis of audiovisual and digital material, and witness testimony gathered during the investigation to determine whether the publications violated freedom of expression and the exercise of journalism.
Authorities emphasized that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are protected under the Honduran Constitution as well as international treaties ratified by the country.
Central America
EU Urges Nicaragua to Hold Free and Transparent Elections Amid Proposed Electoral Reforms
The European Union on Saturday called on Nicaragua to hold elections “in accordance with international standards” after the country’s co-president, Daniel Ortega, promoted electoral reforms that critics say would prevent opposition groups from participating in future elections.
Nicaragua’s National Assembly, which is controlled by allies of President Ortega and Co-President Rosario Murillo, announced on Wednesday that it would draft a package of constitutional and electoral reforms to be voted on in August. Legislative President Gustavo Porras said the changes are intended to prevent what he described as the “terrible manipulation by empires and their lackeys” in the country’s electoral process, referring to opposition groups.
In a statement issued on behalf of the European Union’s 27 member states, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas urged the Nicaraguan authorities to preserve democratic principles.
“We call on the authorities to convene elections and ensure that they are held as originally scheduled and conducted in a transparent, inclusive, and credible manner, in accordance with international standards,” Kallas said.
The European Union also reiterated its condemnation of what it described as the Nicaraguan government’s “systemic repression.” Kallas called for dialogue between Ortega’s administration and opposition groups before any electoral reforms are implemented.
Ortega, who has been in power for nearly two decades, has faced repeated criticism from the international community over restrictions on political opponents and civil liberties.
In response to the growing international criticism, the Nicaraguan government announced on Friday that it will brief foreign diplomats on the proposed reforms, seeking to explain the objectives and scope of the legislative package before it is debated in Congress next month.
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