List of journalists killed in Guatemala


is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists and media workers in Latin America. At least 342 journalists were murdered and 126 were disappeared or illegally arrested during the Guatemalan Civil War. On average, that would calculate to one attack each month for 36 years. When fighting broke out between the leftist guerrilla movements and the right-wing government, journalism became a dangerous profession in the country. Hundreds of media workers were beaten, imprisoned, kidnapped, or even killed for writing about corruption, repression, organized crime, and human right violations committed by the regime. As the intensity of the civil war increased in the 1970s, Guatemalan journalism polarized and journalists became involved in politics. If a citizen wanted to report a crime, they went to the press, not to law enforcement; people who wanted to voice their political opposition sent their work for publication to newspapers, not to the Guatemalan government. By 1985, when Guatemala readopted its constitutional rule, press freedom began to improve. When a peace treaty was signed in 1996, the atmosphere improved for journalists in Guatemala and the killings of media workers dropped significantly. However, attacks against the press and targeted killings continued under the form of organized crime.
The end of the civil war made the Guatemalan press "free" in several aspects; newspapers began to publish articles about government corruption, a topic that was frequently avoided during the war-time era, in increasing numbers. Despite these improvements, journalists in Guatemala learned to adopt a culture of self-censorship that dates back to the civil war. Negative attitudes from the government towards the Guatemalan press continue to exist, and the press lacks the economic independence to break away from the government and its advertisements and become fully autonomous. Most of the media outlets in the country are centered in Guatemala City, the capital. Journalists who work in the capital have better working conditions and are better protected from attacks than those living in the provinces, where they are easily pressured by local officials for their direct reporting. Since the mid-2000s, drug-related violence and the presence of Mexican organized crime, in particular of Los Zetas, has increased the number of homicides in Guatemala and attacks against the press.

During the Guatemalan Civil War

DateNameLocationMedia outletStatusRefs
1948Alejandro CórdovaGuatemalaEl ImparcialKilled
20 August 1960Manuel Ávila Ayala
: Meme Ayala		GuatemalaDiario de CentroaméricaKilled
12 July 1967José Arnoldo Guilló MartínezEscuintla, Escuintla DepartmentRadio Sur
Radio Palmeras		Disappeared
4 September 1967José Torón BarriosGuatemalaVoz de la LiberaciónKilled
1968Gonzalo AcevedoGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentLa HoraKilled
1970sLuis Díaz PérezGuatemalaN/AKilled
1970sEnrique SalazarGuatemalaN/AKilled
29 April 1970Julio César de la RocaGuatemalaLa NaciónKilled
20 November 1970Enrique Salazar SolórzanoGuatemalaEl Debate
Guatemala Flash		Disappeared
20 November 1970Luis Díaz PérezGuatemalaGuatemala FlashDisappeared
10 December 1970Humberto González JuárezGuatemalaN/AKilled
15 May 1974Werner Roswald Trejo ÁlvarezGuatemalaN/ADisappeared
19 July 1975Julio Roberto PensamientoSan Agustín Acasaguastlán, El ProgresoLa NaciónKilled
22 July 1975José María López ValdizónGuatemalaAlero
Presencia
Revista de Guatemala		Disappeared
28 July 1975Carlos Humberto OliverosGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentNuevo Diario del AireDisappeared
15 December 1976Manuel de Jesús MendizábalGuatemalaN/ADisappeared
19 May 1979Carlos Gilberto Aquino CruzJalapa, JalapaOrientalKilled
22 September 1978Héctor Augusto VásquezHuehuetenango, HuehuetenangoRadio PoderosaDisappeared
6 November 1978Antonio Estuardo Ciani GarcíaGuatemalaAsociación de Periodistas EscolaresDisappeared
11 December 1978José Héctor Sosa VilledaGuatemalaGuate CosasKilled
19 November 1979José León CastañedaGuatemalaSIMCOSKilled
1980Baltasar Toy MedranoGuatemalaRadio QuichéKilled
1980Víctor Galeano RodríguezGuatemalaN/AKilled
March 1980Hugo Rolando MelgarGuatemala7 DíasKilled
17 April 1980Oscar Enrique Ovalle BarrillasGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentN/ADisappeared
21 June 1980Manuel René PolancoGuatemalaPrensa LibreDisappeared
24 June 1980Belte Elvidio VillatoroGuatemalaNuevo DiarioKilled
5 July 1980Marco Antonio Cacao MuñozGuatemalaRadio SensaciónKilled
5 July 1980Eliot HernándezRetalhuleu, RetalhuleuLa NaciónKilled
16 July 1980Samuel González RomeroGuatemalaPrensa en AcciónKilled
17 July 1980Manuel de Jesús Marroquín CastañedaGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentN/AKilled
26 July 1980Julio César Coronado EspinozaEscuintla, Escuintla DepartmentEl EstudianteKilled
1 August 1980José Alfredo GonzálezEscuintla, Escuintla DepartmentClarín
Radio Tropicana		Killed
1 August 1980Julio Cojón TecúnEscuintla, Escuintla DepartmentRadio TropicanaKilled
1 August 1980Alberto SantistebanEscuintla, Escuintla DepartmentRadio TropicanaKilled
1 August 1980Julio Solórzano BeltetónEscuintla, Escuintla DepartmentRadio TropicanaKilled
5 August 1980Mario Ribas MontesGuatemalaLa Hora
El Imparcial
Diario de Centroamérica		Killed
5 September 1980Luis Alberto Romero
: Timoteo Curruchiche		GuatemalaRadio SonoraKilled
15 September 1980Ramiro Antonio García JiménezGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentNuevo DiarioDisappeared
6 October 1980Felipe Zepeda y ZepedaGuatemalaRadio QuicheKilled
14 October 1980Víctor Hugo PensamientoEl Progreso DepartmentLa Nación
Tele Prensa
Radio Nuevo Mundo		Killed
16 October 1980Irma Flaquer AzurdiaGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentLa HoraDisappeared
24 October 1980Gaspar Culán YatazSantiago Atitlan, SololáRadio Voz de AtitlánKilled
19 December 1980Alaíde FoppaGuatemalaEl Imparcial
El Nacional		Disappeared
19 December 1980José Guilló MartínezGuatemalaN/ADisappeared
19 December 1980Sergio SánchezRetalhuleu, RetalhuleuTeleprensaKilled
19 December 1980Carlos SiliézarEscuintla, EscuintlaN/AKilled
1981Francisco ParGuatemalaN/AKilled
1981Paredes QuiñónezGuatemalaN/AKilled
30 January 1981Oscar Rolando FigueroaGuatemalaN/AKilled
4–15 February 1981Simón Estansilao CabreraGuatemalaRadio MusicalKilled
6 February 1981Jorge Marroquín MejíaGuatemalaMundo Nuevo
El Independiente		Killed
21 February 1981Simón Leonidas Cabrera RiveraGuatemalaRadio JutiapaKilled
24 February 1981Óscar Arturo Palencia PinedaGuatemalaSiete Días en la USACKilled
10 March 1981Oscar Leonel Mujía CórdobaHuehuetenango, Huehuetenango DepartmentNuevo MundoDisappeared
31 March 1981Luis Alfredo LópezGuatemalaN/AKilled
21 April 1981Isidro Mirando LópezGuatemalaRadio TropicalKilled
21 May 1981Fulvio Alirio Mejía MiliánCuilapa, Santa RosaLa Nación
El Independiente		Killed
21 May 1981Edgar Rolando Castillo RiveraQuetzaltenango, QuetzaltenangoRadioperiódico AméricaKilled
16 June 1981Rodrigo Ramírez MoralesGuatemalaConsejo Nacional de la PublicidadDisappeared
23 July 1981Sonia Calderón de MartellGuatemalaEl GráficoDisappeared
9 August 1981Mario Solórzano FoppaGuatemalaInfopress
Nuevo Diario		Killed
11 August 1981Abner Daniel Recinos AlfaroGuatemalaSeisDisappeared
16 September 1981Didier Juvenal Martell GonzálezChiquimulilla, Santa RosaEl GráficoKilled
1982Agustín Tzaloj TuistSololá, Sololá DepartmentRadio QuicotéKilled
21 January 1982Carmen Jax SayGuatemalaRadio UtatlánKilled
2 February 1982Roberto Girón LemusGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentLa NaciónKilled
1989Danilo BarillasGuatemala¿Por Qué?Killed
29 March 1989Griffith DavisQuiché, GuatemalaFreelance journalistKilled
29 March 1989Nicholas Chapman BlakeQuiché, GuatemalaFreelance journalistKilled
15 October 1990Humberto González GamarraGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentN/AKilled
15 October 1990Miguel Ángel CortínGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentN/AKilled
3 July 1993Jorge Carpio NicolleChichicastenango, QuichéEl GráficoKilled
24 December 1993Víctor Manuel de la CruzGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentRadio SonoraKilled
12 September 1994Victor Hugo López EscobarGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentRadio ProgresoKilled
29 January 1995Alberto Antoniotti MongeGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentEl GráficoKilled
11 November 1995Edwin Estuardo Mansilla De LeónGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentRadio ProgresoKilled
11 April 1996Juan José YantucheMixco, Guatemala DepartmentTV NoticiasKilled
10 December 1996Israel Hernández MarroquínGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentInfopress CentroamericanoKilled

After the Guatemalan Civil War

DateNameLocationMedia outletStatusRefs
5 June 1997Jorge Luis Marroquín SagastumeJocotán, ChiquimulaSol ChortíKilled
16 July 1997Norman Homero Hernández PérezTiquisate, EscuintlaRadio CampesinaKilled
14 November 1997Luis Ronaldo de Leon GodoyGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentPrensa LibreKilled
27 December 1999Larry LeeGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentBridge Financial NewsKilled
28 April 2000Roberto Martínez CastañedaGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentPrensa LibreKilled
25 June 2000Francisco Antonio Castillo GálvezGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentAvancesKilled
5 September 2001Jorge Mynor Alegría ArmendárizPuente Barrios, IzabalRadio AmatiqueKilled
24 July 2003Héctor RamírezGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentNoti-7
Radio Sonora		Killed
11 September 2006Eduardo Heriberto Maas BolCobán, Alta VerapazRadio PuntoKilled
3 May 2007Mario Rolando López SánchezGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentRadio SonoraKilled
23 January 2008Hugo ArceGuatemala¿Y Qué?Killed
12 April 2008Rubén Bozarreyes LunaGualán, ZacapaRadio GualánKilled
10 May 2008Jorge Mérida PérezCoatepeque, QuetzaltenangoPrensa LibreKilled
22 October 2008Abel Girón MoralesGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentEl PeriódicoKilled
2009Luis Alberto Oliva OrellanaChiquimula, ZacapaN/AKilled
1 April 2009Rolando Santiz de LeónGuatemala City, Guatemala DepartmentTelecentro TreceKilled
5 June 2009Marco Antonio EstradaChiquimula, ZacapaTelediarioKilled
27 May 2010Anibal ArchilaGuatemala CityNote7Killed
18–19 May 2011Yensi Roberto Ordoñez GaldámezNueva Concepción, EscuintlaChannel 14Killed
20 March 2013Jaime Napoleón Jarquín DuarteCiudad Pedro de Alvarado, JutiapaNuestro DiarioKilled
7 April 2013Luis Alberto Lemus RuanoJalpatagua, JutiapaCafé TV
Radio Stereo Café		Killed
7 August 2013Luis de Jesús LimaZacapa, ZacapaLa SultanaKilled
20 August 2013Carlos Alberto Orellana ChávezSuchitepéquez DepartmentCanal Óptimo 23Killed
10 March 2015Danilo LópezMazatenango, SuchitepéquezPrensa LibreKilled
10 March 2015Federico SalazarMazatenango, SuchitepéquezNuevo MundoKilled
14 March 2015Guido Armando Giovanni Villatoro RamosChicacao, Suchitepéquez DepartmentCanal 14Killed
1 February 2018Laurent Ángel Castillo CifuentesSanto Domingo Suchitepéqueznewspaper Nuestro Diario Killed
1 February 2018Luis Alfredo de León MirandaSanto Domingo SuchitepéquezRadio CoaltepecKilled