Journalist Mario Guevara Detained 100 Days, Decried by Press Freedom Groups

September 18, 2025 – USA – 

Mario Guevara, a Spanish-language reporter born in El Salvador, has now been held in U.S. custody for 100 days following his arrest on June 14, 2025, sparking concern from press-freedom organizations. He was livestreaming a protest against immigration raids in Georgia when the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office detained him, charging him with three misdemeanors: unlawful assembly, obstruction, and being a pedestrian in the roadway.

Two days later, a judge ordered that Guevara be released on bond. Instead, he was handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has claimed—without providing public evidence—that he is in the country illegally. His lawyers vehemently dispute this assertion.

By July 10, all criminal charges against Guevara had been dismissed. However, despite this, he remains in detention under ICE custody.

Guevara, 47, began his journalism career in Atlanta with Mundo Hispanico. In 2024, he launched his own digital outlet, MG News. He also has bylines in The New York Times among other media. He first came to the U.S. in 2004 and applied for asylum in 2005, citing threats he faced in El Salvador due to his work as a journalist. At the time of his arrest, he had legal authorization to work in the United States and a pathway to permanent residence through his U.S. citizen son.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for Guevara’s immediate release and an apology from the U.S. government, arguing that his detention is an unlawful attack on press freedom and an intimidation tactic aimed at international journalists working in the U.S.

The case has raised alarm among legal experts and free-press advocates over the misuse of immigration enforcement against those exercising the right to report. RSF and allied organizations maintain that this case could set a dangerous precedent: one where journalists are detained not for real legal violations but because their work covers controversial or politically sensitive topics.

Reference – 

https://rsf.org/en/usa-100-days-detention-journalist-mario-guevara