new york >> In another sign of growing political repression in Guatemala, authorities have arrested an award-winning journalist who was critical of the government and raided the offices of the newspaper he founded.

Jose Ruben Zamora, president of the elPeriodico newspaper, was arrested at his home in Guatemala City on Friday night on charges including possible money laundering, blackmail and influence peddling, according to the Guatemalan Attorney General’s Office.

“There must be a conspiracy, a persecution,” Zamora told reporters outside his home as he was being held by police.

Zamora’s arrest is the latest move by Guatemalan authorities to stifle political dissent and crush attempts to expose graft in the government of President Alejandro Giammattei, which has become an increasing challenge for Joe Biden’s administration and its goal of stamping out corruption in Central America.

— The New York Times

In May, the State Department announced sanctions against the country’s attorney general, Maria Consuelo Porras, accusing her of involvement in “significant corruption” and of attempting to derail investigations into graft.

“During her tenure, Porras repeatedly obstructed and undermined anti-corruption investigations in Guatemala to protect her political allies and gain undue political favor,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The sanctions appeared to have little effect.

Earlier this month, Porras ousted eight prosecutors in a matter of weeks, according to Human Rights Watch, including Hilda Pineda, who had taken former President Efrain Rios Montt to court for crimes including genocide.

As well as arresting Zamora, authorities detained an assistant prosecutor in the special prosecutor’s office against impunity, Samari Carolina Gomez Diaz, for “revealing confidential information,” Rafael Curruchiche, who leads the anti-impunity office, said in a video message on Twitter.

Under Zamora’s leadership, elPeriodico had reported on several allegations of corruption within the Giammattei administration, including within the prosecutor’s office, and his sudden arrest was widely criticized by human rights groups.

“This case could be a breaking point for the guarantees of freedom of expression in Guatemala,” Juan Pappier, senior Americas researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in an email.

In a video posted on social media Saturday, Zamora spoke from behind bars, saying he would begin a hunger strike in protest of his arrest.

“Let me die if necessary,” he said. “But let there be justice.”