Guatemalan journalist found dead after family reported death threats

Mexico City, December 19, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Guatemalan authorities to quickly and comprehensively complete its investigation into the killing of journalist Jorge Agustín Zapeta Aguilar, determine whether he was targeted for his work, and bring those responsible to justice.

Zapeta, 56, was found dead on December 16 in a rural area known as El Aguacatal in the municipality of San Pablo Jocopilas, in Guatemala’s southern Suchitepéquez department, according to Guatemalan newspaper La Hora. He had been reported missing since Monday, according to the report.

“Guatemalan authorities must conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into Jorge Agustín Zapeta Aguilar’s killing and hold those responsible to account ”said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America program coordinator, in São Paulo. “Attacks against journalists undermine local democracy and the public’s right to be informed.”

According to Guatemalan news website Prensa Comunitaria, prosecutors from the Public Ministry and agents from the National Civil Police responded to the scene and opened an investigation. The outlet reported that Guatemala’s National Institute of Forensic Sciences said in a press briefing that Zapeta died from blunt force trauma to the chest.

Zapeta was a journalist, community communicator, and teacher who worked primarily in Guatemala’s southern rural municipalities. He hosted a regional television program titled “Libertad de Expresión.”

In a statement, the Association of Journalists of Guatemala said Zapeta’s family members  told them that he had received threats in the weeks before his disappearance, though authorities have not publicly confirmed those claims.

CPJ’s email to Guatemala’s Public Ministry for comment did not receive an immediate response.

Zapeta is the second journalist killed in Guatemala in 2025. In March, journalist Ismael Alonzo González was shot dead in Quetzaltenango.