; and (2) journalist Victor Ticay, who was arrested in April 2023 in connection to his April 5, 2023, reporting about a Catholic Easter celebration; Whereas, in Guatemala, RSF has noted the risk of the criminalization of journalism in Guatemala as Government officials and politicians routinely harass and target journalists who investigate corruption, press freedom is facing an alarming assault, and journalists are not only being criminalized and imprisoned but are also relentlessly targeted for their reporting, enduring online and offline harassment, intimidation, and physical assaults, including the arrest of José Rubén Zamora, a prize-winning journalist whose trial has been widely criticized by international observers as arbitrary and politically motivated, who was convicted of money laundering allegations in July 2022, sentenced to 6 years in prison, and remains behind bars despite the October 13, 2023, ruling by a Guatemalan court that overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial in Zamora’s case, which continues to face delays; Whereas, in Peru, criminal defamation lawsuits, legislation, and restrictive accreditation schemes for journalists that undermine freedom of expression have been used to harass and silence investigative journalists who write about prominent political figures, and the unlawful state repression of protesters has also increased the risk to journalists covering ongoing social unrest in Peru, as corroborated by the woundings of several journalists by rubber pellets and tear gas canisters in police and military operations throughout 2022 and 2023 that have been condemned by international organizations as violating international standards on the use of force; Whereas, in Ecuador, a group of presumed gang members stormed a local news station in Guayaquil on January 9, 2024, during a live broadcast, which evinces the country’s worsening security condition amid organized crime activity that has forced at least 5 journalists to leave Ecuador between April and October 2023, according to CPJ