“I was in shock”: Local community reacts to the detention of a prominent Salvadoran journalist

This story was updated on June 18 at 11:31amEST.

Just two weeks ago, Irene Diaz-Bazan was speaking to Mario Guevara—a fellow Spanish-language journalist covering the Atlanta area’s Latino communities—about the work that the two do: “I told him to be careful,” Irene recalled in a message to 285 South today. Still, the news that Guevara had been taken into police custody over the weekend came as a surprise, she said: “I was in shock.” 

Guevara was arrested on Saturday by DeKalb County police while covering an immigration protest on Chamblee Tucker Road. He’s been charged with improperly entering a pedestrian roadway, obstruction of law enforcement officers, and unlawful assembly. Guevara, who moved to the U.S. from El Salvador over 20 years ago and was in the process of applying for a green card, was in custody of the Dekalb Police Department until early Wednesday morning, when he was transferred to ICE custody.

Emily Bloch, the president of the Society for Professional Journalists, said in a statement to Atlanta Civic Circle: “Mr. Guevara seems to have been clearly identified as press, and while we are still looking into the details, based on what we know, he should not have been prevented from doing his job, much less taken into custody.” The Committee to Protect Journalists called Guevara’s arrest a “crude form of censorship.”

At a press conference on Tuesday evening, his daughter, Karla Guevara, said the family was hoping that he would be released from police custody on Saturday night, but when they found out he had an ICE detainer, they were “terrified.” Now, with the support of his immigration attorneys, they’re hopeful he’ll eventually be released. 

Irene, the founder of the local Latino community news outlet Prensa Atlanta, has known Mario for 20 years, working alongside him covering everything from community events to rallies demanding the shutdown of ICE facilities. The current climate is “worse” than it has ever been for reporters, she said: “We have to be really careful.” 

Guevara has been reporting on ICE arrests and raids in the Atlanta area since the first Trump administration, work that’s gained him wide recognition; an independent journalist with nearly 800,000 followers on Facebook, he’s carved out a unique role for himself as a community advocate and reporter. “He goes the extra mile in his job,” Irene told 285 South. 

A resident of Gwinnett County who moved here from Mexico nearly two decades ago, and didn’t want her real name shared, told 285 South that some in the community feel that his broadcasts about ICE arrests and detentions “caused panic,” while others are praying for his release.

On Facebook, hundreds of community members have been reacting to news of his arrest. “Praying to God because he is the only one that can help Mr. Mario. Many people criticize him, but as human beings, we make mistakes. The people are asking for him to be freed because his detention is a major injustice,” said one commenter.

“He is a journalist,” another commented. “Freedom and free expression are a right.”