Outrage in Guatemala as crusading journalist given six-year prison term

Jose Ruben Zamora, 66, convicted and sentenced on money-laundering charges press freedom groups say were trumped up

A veteran journalist and founder of one of Guatemala's oldest newspapers has been sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, in a case widely condemned as politically motivated.

Jose Ruben Zamora, 66, was convicted on Wednesday by a three-judge panel in Guatemala City, who ruled that there was no doubt" the outspoken critic of government corruption masterminded the laundering of almost $40,000 in 2022. The court absolved Zamora of blackmail and peddling influence charges.