Founded in 1990 by José Rubén Zamora, the paper advocated judicial and tax reforms and reported on dangerous subjects including narcotics smuggling, human rights issues, guerrilla groups, and corruption in the government of President Jorge Serrano.
He also instituted press censorship, surrounding the Siglo Veintiuno offices with national police forces.
In 1995, Zamora's car was driven off the road by two people who threatened to kill him for publishing allegations in Siglo Veintiuno that the military of Guatemala had links to organized crime.
[2] In the same year, Zamora won the Maria Moors Cabot Prize from Columbia University "for promoting press freedom and inter-American understanding".
[4] The citation stated that "Zamora and Siglo Veintiuno were in the forefront of a civilian resistance that forced President Jorge Serrano Elias to relinquish his post after he attempted to seize dictatorial power in 1993.