The International Press Institute (IPI) strongly condemns the killing of Guatemalan journalist Carlos Humberto Cal Ical and calls on authorities to swiftly and transparently investigate his murder and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Cal Ical, a veteran journalist who contributed to local outlets Radio Tezulutlan, Stereo Gerardi, Al Día, and Noticias La Esfinge Cobán, was killed on April 26 near his home in San Cristóbal Verapaz by a group of unknown gunmen. According to media reports, he was shot five times.
The day after Cal Ical’s murder, a spokesperson for Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo condemned the killing.
In a statement released after the killing, the Association of Journalists and Social Communicators of Alta Verapaz, of which Cal Ical was a member, warned the killing was not an isolated incident, but rather evidence of “systematic persecution” against Guatemala’s independent journalists. The Association of Journalists of Guatemala called his killing an attack on “the public’s right to be informed,” noting its occurrence only days before World Press Freedom Day on May 3.
The Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz, where Cal Ical was killed, is well known to be one of the most dangerous regions in the country for journalists. Despite the Guatemalan government’s 2023 commitment to a national journalist protection programme, many community journalists in the region regularly face heightened safety risks due to reporting on social and territorial conflicts and local government.
“We call on authorities to open a swift and transparent investigation into the murder of Carlos Humberto Cal Ical, including any possible links to his journalistic work. There must be consequences for those who commit crimes against the press,” said IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette. “IPI also urges President Arévalo to take concrete steps to protect all journalists, and especially those reporting on sensitive social and political issues, in order to prevent future crimes against the press.”