Guatemala gov't responds to news story before it is published

Guatemala gov't responds to news story before it is published
Source: Reuters - Wed, 17 Sep 2014 02:11 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Guatemala's government posted an online response to a newspaper article about the country's vice president before it was published, provoking criticism the government was spying on the country's media.

Pictures of the article, which linked a luxury property owned by Vice President Roxana Baldetti to businessmen who have benefited from government contracts, were put up on the government's website, along with a written response.

"This is espionage that violates the confidentiality of the press and generates uncertainty and intimidation," Frank La Rue, an ex-U.N. special freedom of expression investigator, said in a telephone interview.

Baldetti said she had been sent the story in an anonymous envelope and that she published a response because the newspaper, El Periodico, had not sought her version of events.

More:
http://www.trust.org/item/20140917021324-vggbk/

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This is the article, Una tarde en la Finca de la Vicepresidenta, published by El Periodico, with photos of the humble dwelling in question:

Google translation will allow non-Spanish speakers a very good idea of what the story describes:

Una tarde en la Finca de la Vicepresidenta

La finca La Montagna, ubicada en Tecpán Guatemala, Chimaltenango, tiene una extensión de casi dos caballerías y su valor de mercado supera los Q25 millones.

http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20140916/investigacion/1940/Una-tarde-en-la-Finca-de-la-Vicepresidenta.htm