After the sentencing of Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Zamora to 6 years in prison on politically motivated charges, we’re sharing a recent documentary about his story. “A Heart that Never Dies: Guatemala, The Land of Terror”, a short film by Norwegian journalist, filmmaker, author and social commentator Erling Borgen, shows how Zamora, founder and president of investigative daily El Periodico, and his family have been persecuted for decades in response to his newspaper’s exposure of corruption and crime.
In May 2023, after more than 25 years of reporting, El Periodico was forced to close down following the arrest of Zamora in July 2022 and continued pressure on its advertisers. At least 9 other journalists and columnists from the newspaper have also been under investigation. These attacks are part of a decades-long campaign by successive governments to silence the newspaper’s investigative reporting.
Watch the documentary here.