06/13/23 06/13/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> if you nt to geher to presidentrump, y'reoing to have tgo throu me and million americs just le me. i amoing to ll you, our card-carrying members of the nra. amy: donald trump is preparing

to surrender today in miami and become the first president ever arraigned on federal charges. as authorities beef up security, we will look at how trump and his supporters have responded to the charges with increasingly violent rhetoric about war and insurrection. then 60 years ago this week, president john f. kennedy made history by calling for a peace with the soviet union during the height of the cold war. pres. kennedy: nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring in adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. to adopt that kind of thought in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy or of a collective death wish for the world amy: and freedom of the press is under attack in guatemala ahead of this month's general election. >> i am the son of guatemalan

journalist jose ruben zamora who has been facing political persecution simply for denouncing corruption and doing journalism. because in guatemala, journalism is a crime. amy: jose ruben zamora faces 40 years in prison. we will speak to his son. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. former president donald trump is surrendering to federal authorities in miami, florida, today to face charges for retaining and mishandling classified documents, including top-secret information about u.s. nuclear weapons programs. in recent days, trump and many of supporters have condemned the charges using inflammatory language. ahead of trump's arraignment, miami police chief manny morales said law enforcement officials are preparing for the possibility of violence by far-right extremists outside miami's federal courthouse.

>> make no mistake, we are taking this event extremely serious. we know there is a potential of things taking a turn for the worse, but that is not the miami way. amy: trump, who's currently the front-runner for the republican party's 2024 presidential nomination, is planning to fly to his golf club in bedminster, new jersey, after his florida arraignment to deliver remarks this evening. after headlines, we'll have the latest on the federal indictment against trump. we'll speak with ruth ben-ghiat, expert on fascism and authoritarianism. in ukraine, at least 10 people were killed and more than two dozen injured overnight as russia launched a massive missile attack on the central city of kryvyi rih. victims included residents of a partially-collapsed five-story apartment building, where rescue crews said people could still be trapped under rubble. ukraine's military, meanwhile, says it has retaken seven settlements in the donetsk and

zaporizhzhia regions in a counteroffensive over the past week. nato has opened its largest-ever aerial war games in germany. the military alliance says some 10,000 personnel from 25 countries are taking part in drills involving 250 war planes. non-nato nations japan and sweden are participating. the war games opened as french president emmanuel macron welcomed german chancellor olaf scholz and polish president duda to paris, where the three discussed aid to ukraine. meanwhile, nato secretary-general jens stoltenberg delayed monday's planned visit with president joe biden by a day after biden had emergency surgery, root canal. on saturday, canadian prime minister justin trudeau made a surprise visit to kyiv, where he met president volodymyr zelenskyy and addressed ukraine's parliament. trudeau pledged a half-billion dollars in new military aid to ukraine said he would support ukraine's bid to join nato during the alliance's july summit in vilnius, lithuania.

>> canada and the others are supportive of ukraine joining nato when the conditions allow. what that exactly looks like is a conversation that we are continuing to have between now and -- very positive about it. amy: the world's nuclear powers spent nearly $44 billion on weapons of mass destruction last year, or more than $157,000 per minute, with the united states accounting for more nuclear weapons spending than all other nations combined. that's the finding of a new report by the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. the nobel peace prize-winning group found worldwide spending on nuclear weapons rose last year for the third consecutive year. iran's supreme leader has said he's open to reviving the landmark 2015 iran nuclear deal, which the u.s. unilaterally withdrew from under president trump in 2018. on sunday, ayatollah ali khamenei said there was nothing wrong with pursuing a revival of

the agreement as long as iran can keep its nuclear infrastructure intact. khamenei spoke after touring an exhibition of iran's nuclear industry in tehran. >> based upon islamic ideals, we do not want their weapons. but if this wasn't the case, they would not be able to prove us from doing so just like they could not prevent our nuclear progress so far. amy: human rights groups are warning iran is on course to -- use of capital punishment in around has surged following the death of 22-year-old mahsa amini in police custody last september. in the democratic republic of the congo, the u.n. reports more than 45 people were killed after an attack on a camp for internally displaced

communities. the camp, located near a u.n. peacekeeping site in the djugu territory, was reportedly infiltrated by fighters of a coalition of armed groups sunday who carried out the massacre through the early hours of monday. the victims were buried in a mass grave. the u.n. called the attack a serious violation of international humanitarian law. unesco says the united states will rejoin the united nations' cultural and scientific agency and will pay more than $600 million in back dues. in 2017, the trump administration announced it would withdraw the u.s. from unesco, citing what it called anti-israel bias. israel followed suit immediately after. both the u.s. and israel stopped paying member dues in 2011 after palestine joined unesco. in climate news, tens of thousands ofead fishave washed ashore across multiple beaches along the texas gulf cot after th were stard of oxygen dueo abnormal-warm ocean temperatures. in 2019, the u.n. warned the clime crisis wl increangly lead to massive die-offs of

marine life as warm water holds far less oxygen than colr water. this comes as more than 430 wildfires continue to burn across canada, with thousands of people in alberta, british colombia and quebec still under evacuation orders. quebec's minister of public security said the blazes will likely last all summer, with more air quality alerts likely across the northern u.s. and canada. last wednesday, as thick, dark smoke from canada's fires blanketed new york city, over 300 people were seen at hospitals due to symptoms of asthma -- nearly double the number seen the day before the smoke arrived. the highest rate of emergencies were reported in predominantly low-income, black and latinx neighborhoods. in montana, a landmark climate trial led by 16 children and young adults began monday in the capital helena. the lawsuit, which is the first of the kind to go to trial in the u.s., was filed in 2020 by plaintiffs between the ages of

five and 22. they accuse the state of montana of violating their constitutional rights as it pushed pro-fossil fuel policies that devastated the environment and severely impacted their health. this is julia olson, executive director of our children's trust, the nonprofit law firm representing the young plaintiffs. >> children need lawyers and they need advocates because our system of law does not prioritize the needs of the youngest among us. when it comes to climate crisis, human laws are not big attention to the laws of nature and what scientists say is necessary to present -- protect our children and all generations. amy: earlier this month, judge cleared a case began in the federal court in oregon after supreme court chief justice john roberts block the lawsuit in 2018. jpmorgan chase has agreed to pay $290 million to settle a lawsuit brought by survivors who say the

bank knowingly benefited from sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of convicted sex trafficker jeffrey epstein. jpmorgan chase still faces a separate lawsuit brought against u.s. virgin islands where the attorney general's office said in a statement it will proceed with its enforcement action to "prevent the bank from assisting and profiting from human trafficking in the future." and in pennsylvania, authorities have recovered the body of a tanker truck driver who died after he lost control of his rig and crashed sunday morning, triggering a fire that collapsed an overpass on interstate 95 in philadelphia. the disaster has halted traffic in both directions along the main east coast artery connecting florida to maine. on monday, pennsylvania governor josh shapiro said officials would have a timeline for its reconstruction once engineers complete a review in the coming days. >> with regards to the complete rebuild of i-95 roadway, we

expect that to take some mom -- some number of months. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: authorities in miami are ramping up security near the federal courthouse where donald trump will surrender today to face charges for retaining and mishandling classified documents, including top-secret information about u.s. nuclear weapons. on friday, the justice department unsealed a historic 37-count indictment against trump who is running for the white house again. in recent days, trump and many of his supporters have condemned the charges using inflammatory language. andy biggs, a far right member of congress from arizona wrote on social media -- "we have now reached a war phase. an eye for an eye."

louisiana congressman clay higgins wrote a cryptic tweet that many viewed as a call for insurrection. former arizona republican gubernatorial candidate kari lake directly threatened violence. >> iave a meage tonht for merrickarland and jk smith and jo bid andhe guys ck the andhe fake wsedia, this ones for yo if youant to geto presidt trp, you're goi to haveo gohrough mnd 75 miion americanjust likme. d i am gng to te y, st ofsre card-rrying mbers the nra th is not thrt. it is a public service

announcement. amy: kari lake's comments were widely criticized. ruben gallego, a democrat running for senate, responded -- "this language isn't just hyperbole, it's dangerous and it threatens the very core of our democracy." donald trump has repeatedly attacked special counsel jack smith, calling him age arranged lunatic and a thug. on saturday, trump spoke in columbus, georgia, about what he called the "final battle." pres. trump: the marxist left is using the same corrupt doj and corrupt fbi and the attorney general and the local district attorneys to interfere in our elections at a level that our country and few countries have ever seen before. they are cheating, they're crooked, they're corrupt. these criminals cannot be rewarded. you have to defeat them. amy: we are joined now by ruth ben-ghiat, expert on fascism and authoritarianism, author of

"strongmen: mussolini to the present," and a professor of history and italian studies at new york university. she also publishes the newsletter "lucid" on threats to democracy. professor, welcome back to democracy now! tomorrow we will spend more time after the arraignment talking about all of the counts, but today we're focusing on the threats come on the violent threats. can you respond? >> yes. this could be seen as a reaction to trump's indictment and appearance in miami. it could be seen by his most phonetic followers as a kind of spark for second wave of the insurrection. that is certainly the tone of kari lake and clay higgins and these other maga extremists. but trump has been preparing

this into his for many years. first of all, and's 2015, he used his rally -- we are talking 7, 8 years now -- he used his rallies as radical sites. over and over he told his supporters that these rallies -- at these rallies that violence was a good way to solve conflict. how many times to say, oh, and the good old days, we used to be able to punch people and nothing happened. so that discourse of violence encouraged january 6 is part of this. the other is victim cold. this will not be a surrender for maga extremists, this will be victimization. all strongmen said they are victims and this is very compelling to the followers because they feel protective of them and this is part of their leader cult. january 6 was he summoned the faithful to help them in his time of distress so that narrative is continuing now.

juan: how you account for for you republicans are standing up to the situation? of course, mitt romney is one of the few, but most are not only lining up behind trump, but those who are candidates are promising to pardon him if they are elected. >> this is because i see the gop as a scholar of authoritarianism. it is an autocratic party operating inside the democracy. it is a party enthralled to a cult leader. donald trump has been studying cult leaders -- 100 years of them. he has all the signs. he is not a conventional politician a bit of the democratic or republican old-school. he is a cult leader. the gop has long been submissive to him. he put them under an

authoritarian discipline and then made them complicit. this is what corrupt, violent authoritarians do. they make you part of their crimes. so the gop is in damage control mode. there is fear, fanaticism. they don't see a way to break away because they are cowards or they have bought into this war, this battle that he is waging. juan: you said that it trump gets back into power he will never leave. what is at stake in the upcoming election? also, how do you place him in the context of growing right-wing movements in the industrialized west? >> i said that he would never leave if he gets back in because he is saying -- the other day when he said to his followers, i will never leave. on the one hand, this is part of his cult leader devotional kind

of homily to them where he says, i love you, i will be there for you. but it is also telling them -- and he always has ahead of time what is going to do -- that if he gets back in power, he will not leave. he has talked about massive purchase and a whole plan that he will pick up and finish the job of wrecking democracy that he could not finish before. amy: professor, i also want to ask about the debt that silvio berlusconi which was declared a national day of mourning for wednesday. the billionaire media tycoon served four terms as prime minister of italy where he leveraged his unrivaled influence over public opinion controlling the newspapers, magazines three major tv , channels. throughout his career, berlusconi faced multiple charges of money laundering or at least of corruption, criminal

charges including abuse of office, bribery paying for sex , with an underage girl. most of the charges ended in dismissals after berlusconi's government passed laws shielding him from prosecution, but a tax fraud conviction in 2013 barred him from public office for six years. can you talk about what berlusconi represented? >> lessons for us today in the list goni era. two things i will mention, berlusconi set off the whole normalization of the far right. without him, it would have been a lot slower and harder. in 1994, degrees government, he brought neofascists into the government and made the center-right coalition with the xenophobic northern league, now called the league, and his neofascist party. he broke a to abu. during his other two governments in the

2000s, the culture of neo-fascism, culture of fascism itself which he repeatedly whitewashed. he said some reddish journalists, including boris johnson back in 2003, that mussolini never killed anyone. what we see today with the revival of the neofascism and somebody like giorgia meloni, the prime minister, who says, oh, and i conservative, that whitewashing comes straight out of berlusconi and by the way, he gave her her start. the other less than is prosecution matters. berlusconi was so able, as you said, he got parliament to pass laws. if he was the keyser bribery, he got it to be said that it could not be charged or run out the clock. after he left office, he was convicted. he did not go to jail because of

his age. it was that conviction and being banned from politics that finally deflated his personality cult and made his party which he created into a minor force in politics. so prosecution sends a message that no one is above the law. juan: i wanted -- you about how the media should deal with a figure such as donald trump. on the one hand, we have to cover the major events that happen related to him. on the other hand, saturation coverage also provides him more and more free publicity and a platform. what is the proper balance that journalists and the media should exercise, in your view? >> that has been the question since 2016. however, after january 6, i think that people who did not see the danger before perhaps see it now.

it has been a little disheartening that some of the media have returned to the default position of treating him as a conventional candidate. of course, there was the disastrous cnn town hall where people were not allowed to criticized, their only allow to applied. that re-created an authoritarian plateau. it was perfect for him. other people, for example, they don't retweet not only trumpet these other maga extremists because of that extra engagement is figured into algorithms that promote these people. you can screen shot them. we can't close our eyes to this danger. every society that has had a serious threat to democracy has gone into it with some denial, was some idea that it can't happen here. including in germany in the early 1930's which was one of the things -- which was one

of the most advanced societies in the world. it's important to cover two not shy away from denouncing it but also to frame it for what it really is. amy: ruth ben-ghiat, thank you for being with us expert on , fascism and authoritarianism. author of "strongmen: mussolini to the present." when we come back, we will continue looking at strongmen. authoritarian president in guatemala where a publisher faces 40 years in jail. but first, 60 years ago, president john f. kennedy gave a speech about calling for peace between the soviet union and the united states. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "the sling" by youth lagoon. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. 60 years ago this week, president john f. kennedy gave an historic speech at the height of the cold war calling for peace and a reevaluation of relations with the soviet union. just weeks after kennedy's speech, washington and moscow signed a partial nuclear treaty. this is part of what president kennedy said june 10, 1963, during a commencement address at american university in washington, d.c. pres. kennedy: i have chosen this time and place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived -- yet it is the most important topic on earth -- world peace. what kind of peace do i mean? what kind of peace do we seek? not a pax americana enforced on

the world by american weapons of war. not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. i am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children -- not merely peace for americans but peace for all men and women -- not merely peace in our time but peace for all time. i speak of peace because of the new face of war. total war makes no sense in an age where great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without

resort to those forces. it makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost 10 times the explosive force delivered by all the allied air forces in the second world war. it makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn. today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need them is essential to keeping the peace. but surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles -- which can only destroy and never create -- is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace. i speak of peace, therefore, as

the necessary rational end of rational men. i realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war -- and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. but we have no more urgent task. some say that it is useless to speak of peace or world law or world disarmament -- and that it will be useless until the leaders of the soviet union adopt a more enlightened attitude. i hope they do. i believe we can help them do it. but i also believe that we must reexamine our own attitude -- as individuals and as a nation -- for our attitude is as essential as theirs. and every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes

to bring peace, should begin by looking inward, by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the soviet union, toward the course of the cold war, and toward freedom and peace here at home. first, examine our attitude toward peace itself. too many of us think it is impossible. too many think it unreal. but that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. second, let us reexamine our attitude toward the soviet union. no government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. as americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. but we can still hail the russian people for their many achievements in science and space, in economic and

industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage. among the many traits the peoples of our two countries have in common, none is stronger than our mutual abhorrence of war. almost unique among the major world powers, we have never been at war with each other. and no nation in the history of battle ever suffered more than the soviet union and the second world war. at least 20 million lost their lives. countless millions of homes and farms were burned or sacked. a third of the nation's territory, including nearly two thirds of its industrial base, was turned into a wasteland -- a loss equivalent to the destruction of this country east of chicago. today, should total war ever break out again -- no matter how -- our two countries would be the primary targets. it is an ironic but accurate

fact that the two strongest powers are the two in the most danger of devastation. all we have built, all we have worked for, would be destroyed in the first 24 hours. and even in the cold war, which brings burdens and dangers to so many nations, including this nation's closest allies -- our two countries bear the heaviest burdens. for we are both devoting massive sums of money to weapons that could be better devoted to combating ignorance, poverty, and disease. we are both caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle in with breeding suspicion on the other and

united states and its allies, and the soviet union and its allies, have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace and in halting the arms race. agreements to this end are in the interests of the soviet union as well as ours -- and even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interest. so let us not be blind to our differences, but let us also direct attention to our common interests and the means by which those differences can be resolved. and if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. for, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. we all breathe the same air. we all cherish our children's future. and we are all mortal.

third, let us reexamine our attitude toward the cold war, remembering we are not engaged in a debate, seeking to pile up debating points. we are not here distributing blame or pointing the finger of judgment. we must deal with the world as it is and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different. we must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the communist bloc might bring within reach solutions which now seem beyond us. we must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the communists' interest to agree on a genuine peace. and above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either

a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. to adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy or of a collective death wish for the world. amy: that was john f. kennedy, june 10, 19 63, just weeks after his speech, washington and moscow sign the partial new good test ban treaty. kennedy would be assassinated on november 22, 1963, less than six months later. joining us now is katrina vanden heuvel, publisher of "the nation" magazine and a columnist for "the washington post." her new piece for responsible statecraft, headlined "what kind of peace do we seek? at 60, jfk's speech never gets old."

congratulations on receiving your civic award. >> thank you. mark was someone who could not condone the arms race, -- juan: i would like -- give at this extraordinary speech -- i would like to ask you about this extraordinary speech. the timeliness of it, given the situation we are facing now. course than the united states was in a global war with the soviet union but now it is the russian federation from no longer communist, now in openly -- we still have a similar confrontation. >> what interests me is when you listen to the speech, first of all, many people in this country would think president john f. kennedy was subversive. i'm not sure he would be permitted on tv or some of our tv. he might be demonized or slurred.

peace has become a subversive word and that is a tragedy. there is reference to 18 years of war as he gives this speech, and that is a reference to hiroshima, nagasaki step and also the environment coming off the cuban missile csis mmittee dideel hoste to e nucleaarms rac amy, remember, juan, perhaps in central park. there's bit normalition and talk aut using tactical nuclear weapons. this is so dangerous. i what kennedy's speech does, and you just did it extraordinary public service in retrieving american history, there purge so many don't know and that speech is vital for roadmap, a guide, primer for

today as i write in responsible statecraft peace, the biden administration could certainly take a page because they are so far away from this thinking in terms of the belief that military might is what is needed to resolve the critical needs of our country and the world at th time. juan: could you talk about norman cousins who was an anti-nuclear and peace actress who had enormous influence on this speech? the historians have said kennedy did not alert either the cia or the joint chiefs of staff as he was about to make the speech? >> the cuban missile crisis and the bay of pigs, that he couldn't rely on the military. and in that context, he brought together not only norman cousins

-- that is an interesting side story because in previous administrations over time, people have been brought in as mediators. not officials, but negotiating the key was before. norman cousins wasn't editor of "the saturday evening post" and also had relations with kennedy. kennedy trusted him to speak to khrushchev. i think that kind of negotiation can be valuable when the officials -- john kerry is in the administration but where is john kerry perhaps negotiating, talking behind the scenes? i think we want more transparency in our foreign policy but at the same time, negotiations often demand a level of behind the scenes. amy: katrina, we are speaking now as the largest nato air deployment exercise in its

history is going on in germany with over 10,000 participants, two hundred 50 aircraft from 25 nations, japan and sweden not nato allies but are also participating in this. can you talk about the significance of this at this time and what you feel needs to happen? >> convention at this juncture -- imagine at this juncture where there could be a tract for escalating negotiations talk. instead we have come as you noted, the largest air exercise, nato air exercise, in history. i think that is a measure of the mindset that president kennedy warned us. i condemn the war, the brutal war. in addition to what we are witnessing with nato, air exercises, we are witnessing probably the greatest

environmental disaster in the modern history of ukraine with the breach of the dam. there are costs that demand attention and instead we're getting all of these military investors continuing to peddle their wares. as president kennedy said, this is not addressing that poverty, the pandemic, the climate, this is addressing more and more wealth, money going to the arms race. and that is a tragedy and one that president kennedy alludes to in his great speech. juan: could you talk about how the speech then subsequently led to a partial nuclear test ban treaty between united states and the soviet union? >> the idea of words leading to deeds for a part of the cold war

history, ironically. what we witnessed in these last years, decades, is the rollback of the infrastructure of arms control. now, some people were were abolitionists but the prudential list, let's say, are witnessing more and more stockpiles. i believe you. piles according to swedish institute have grown. what has not grown are the negotiations needed to curb -- the doomsday clock has been moved forward to alert people. we seem to be sleepwalking or instead of sleepwalking, it is all about the new lists of weapons. i don't agree with investor michael mcfall and much, but -- the ambassador much, but there is a piece noting three for military people and a commission are tasked with military

equipment purchases. there is no conflict diplomatic figure tasked at this moment to try to find a dual tract way to end this war which is ravaging ukraine and ravaging russia. and those who are serving are the poor, the provincial men come in the elites --which is what this dangerous figure promotion is trying to make a out of come are doing pretty well. many of the elites. this is a difficult time internally into addition what is happening this country, afflicting the mindset of cancel . i think this is madness. president kennedy's words are those of a sober person, a president. he gave that speech on the floor

of the capital. -- if he gave a speech on the floor of the capitol, he would be run off. which is what we need to return to sanity and restraint and a diplomatic -- war should be the very last resort, which is not the case. amy: katrina vanden heuvel, thank you for been with us, publisher of "the nation" magazine and a columnist for "the washington post." her new piece is for responsible statecraft, "what kind of peace do we seek? at 60, jfk's speech never gets old." coming up, we speak to the sound of an international renowned guatemalan journalist jose ruben zamora who is been jailed for nearly a year. this week he faces up to 40 years in prison at his sentencing. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we look now at how prominent guatemalan journalist jose ruben zamo faces 40 ars in prin at his verdict and sentencing hearing wednesday in guatemala ty after hwas arrest on what press freedom and human rights gups say artrumped up money launring charges. zamo is the founder and president of the investigative newspaper el periódico and has long reported on guatemalan government corruption. international rights groups and the guatemalan association of journalists say the case against him is politically motivated. this is jose carlos zamora

speaking after his arrest in july. he has been in prison since. >> they chased me and my children in the streets in a very dangerous way. my family had to go into exile. my home was illegally raided but they have not gone with them as far as they have with me, resting me. i don't know how long the process will take. this is a narco klepto dictatorship. four years ago, our pair democracy was transformed, letting a president who is a thief who has been assaulting us for the past four years. because as guatemans, we don't have the capacity to defend ourselves. in gafter zamora's detention el periódico had to stop , puication itprint editn. in may, e website so ceased publishing due what it called judici and finanal rassment. it signed off with a single

headline, in spanish, that translated to, "we say no to power 1996-2023." it had been publishing for 27 years. rights groups say zamora has not received a fair trial under guatemala's attorney general maría consuelo porras, who is on a u.s. state department list of "corrupt and undemocratic actors." for more on jose carlos zamora and his sentencing tomorrow, we're joined in miami by his son jose carlos zamora, who is also a journalist. welcome to democracy now! it is great to have you with this, though entities very difficult circumstances. tell us what happened to your father and what this sentencing means tomorrow in guatemala city. >> thank you for having me and for paying attention to what is

happening in guatemala. what happened is my father has -- with el periódico he has been doing it for 26 years. specifically the government and the first 144 weeks of the administration, he and his team published 144 stories and investigations into corruption. this led to do political persecution. in guatemala, there's a democratic façade but the executive controls the judiciary. they're using criminal law to persecute anybody who they consider a critical voice. the administration has been systematically attacking all democratic to tuitions and persecuting anybody who had anything to do with fighting

corruption, including the highest profile judges, prosecutors, activists, and in the case of my father, journalists. it is incredible that ministry requested of 40 year sentence, which he said historically there hasn't been such aequest for these typeof cases. it ireally shameful and ridiculous. it shows clearly that it is a politica persecution when they arrested him and processed him, what they want to send is very clear message to all journalists in guatemala that in the country doing journalism is a crime. juan: josé carlos, for those who are not familiar with the most recent history in guatemala,

after the peace accords it look like central america was heading in a better direction and even the perpetrators of some of the genocide were tried, what has happened in recent years that allow this resurgence of this right wing government in your country? >> since 1985, the democratic era, get the opportunity to start the clean slate. in every four years, we change government and every government has been very corrupt. in the last 10 years, there was a big effort to fight corruption. it was working. when they saw these different groups that involved corruption so it was working, they all became allies. that only did they dismantle it, they started persecuting anybody who was involved in fighting corruption.

that's exactly what is happening now step what you see is not only they are persecuting anybody was involved in fighting corruption, but now people who were involved in the highest profile corruption cases and also human rights abuses during the war, they are being let free. you see a regression and a lot of repression. this administration is not only been corrupt but extremely repressive. there never has been since 1995, they have -- there have never been so many guatemalans in exile freeing persecution -- fleeing persecution. the official numbers around 40 but it is estimated it is run 80 people who were left the country because they were being personally persecuted. the was i did not leave are facing ridiculous processes.

like my father, not only was his case -- is been made to go to a process that has been an absolute total violation of due process. and now he is facing the sentence. we are expecting them toe coicted because the system is corruptnd really what we are saying is the government of giammattei has him as a hostage. amy: if you can talk jose carlos zamora about the past arrests against your father. there has been assassination threats, death threats, kidnapping threats. but what it means that they bring charges of money laundering against him now and ultimately, what we're talking about is this coming together of

the elite in the governing elite , giammattei -- i think they're referred to in guatemala. >> the use of the law to persecute critical voices and journalists and opposition. it is a really damaging to democracy and to a country. that is what we are seeing. before when it came to journalists, for example when you're mentioning my father, throughout his 30 year career, he has been shot at, kidnapped -- the entire family has been attacked and kidnapped. they attempted to assassinate him in 2008. there has been car bombs. everything you can imagine has happed. but what we see in howhe governnt has bece more sophisticated in attacki

journalists. this also comes from other repressive reges. they copy each other. from the philippines to nicaragua to guatemala. before they would attack a journalist's credibility because they know that is the only asset a journalist has an from the other side, they would do ese death threats and assassination attempts. but then they discovered killing urnalists mes at a hh price. so when yocontrol th law and the judiciary, it is much simpler to use the law to persute anybodwho you consider an opposition. that is what they're doing. they started first with slap lawsuits within a sign even more efficient to in criminal. that allows them to have the trumped up charges on money laundering and that allows them to have an arrest warrant to rest the journalist and placed him in jail.

it changes everything. it allows them to say under the democratic façade that it is not about journalism, it is not about press freedom, but it is about they are criminals. it allows them to continue to attack the credibility of a journalist, but it also allows them to neutralize him. if you put them in prison. it sends a clear message to all the journalists in the country that they can come after anybody who continues to announce -- denounce corruption. juan: how's your father doing in prison? where is he being held? what are the conditions of his detention? have you spoken to him recently? >> he is in a prison that is a military base. he is healthy and in good spirits, but he has been 319

days in prison today in which pretty much a solitary confinement. he spends 23 hours a day in solitary in a very small cell in very bad shape. the conditions are not very good. the government really had three objectives when they arrested him. one was to punish and directly. he is a pain for them. he hasenounced a of their corrupt ac. so they really wanted them direly in that is why they have him in such tha conditions in this tiny cell. the second one is to shut on the newspaper, which they finally managed to do 11 months later because they also started harassing and attacking advertisers. the third point was to send this clear message to all journalists in the country that in guatemala , doing journalism is a crime.

amy: we just have about a minute, but what can the biden administration do? you have these deals made, especially with northern triangle countries, where the u.s. shores them up to stop immigration. can you talk about that? >> i think there needs to be two things. one is sanctions that really -- from the other side, they should stop having these collaborations with them and just with the focus on migration. it is very nearsighted because the truth and the root cause -- it is corruption and violence which is driving migration. that root cause, if it is that address, people won't stop migrating. you definitely can fund literary

police that tries to stop people south of the border, but unless these root causes are addressed, people won't stop coming to the u.s. america jose carlos zamora, thank you for being with us guatemalan journalist based in , miami, and the son of internationally renowned guatemalan journalist jose ruben zamora, who faces 40 years in prison at his sentencing on wednesday after being jailed nearly a year on what press freedom and human rights groups say are trumped up money laundering charges as political retaliation over exposés of government corruption in guatemala. jose ruben zamora is 66 years old. we will report on what happens in the courtroom tomorrow in guatemala city. that does it for our show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013.

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