OUTRAGE

Leading Guatemalan Journo Gets Six-Year Sentence in Money Laundering Case

Critics lambasted José Rubén Zamora’s conviction and six-year sentence as politically motivated retribution.

One of Guatemala’s most high-profile journalists was convicted of money laundering on Wednesday in what critics blasted as a politically motivated show trial. José Rubén Zamora, 66, was sentenced to six years in prison after a tribunal found he had “harmed the Guatemalan economy.” The public prosecutor’s office sought a 40-year sentence after the 20-day trial. He was cleared of additional charges of blackmail and influence peddling, according to the Associated Press. Known for his work investigating government corruption, Zamora is the founder of three Guatemalan newspapers, including Nuestro Diario, the country’s largest-circulating newspaper and one of the most widely read across the continent. In his final remarks before sentencing, the journalist said that “all of [his] rights were violated” in the case, accusing authorities of destroying evidence. Several of his attorneys were arrested prior to the trial, the AP reported. Zamora faces two separate outstanding criminal cases, including one that was filed just days before Wednesday’s sentencing, according to Al Jazeera.