In response to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s decision to investigate prominent journalist Carlos Chamorro Barrios for alleged money laundering through the Center for Media Investigation, of which Chamorro is a board member, we issued the following statement: “We are concerned that the investigation into Carlos Chamorro Barrios, a harsh critic of Ortega’s administration, could be…
UPDATE MARCH 5, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 Original Case: February 10, 2004 Carlos José Guadamuz, Canal 23 KILLED William Hurtado García, who confessed to the 2004 murder of Canal 23 television host Guadamuz, was conditionally released from prison, the Nicaraguan press reported on March 5. Hurtado had been sentenced to a 21-year prison sentence…
UPDATE MARCH 5, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 Original Case: February 10, 2004 Carlos José Guadamuz, Canal 23 KILLED William Hurtado García, who confessed to the 2004 murder of Canal 23 television host Guadamuz, was conditionally released from prison, the Nicaraguan press reported on March 5. Hurtado had been sentenced to a 21-year prison sentence…
December 19, 2007 Posted January 10, 2008 Jorge Loáisiga, La Prensa ATTACKED Loáisiga, a reporter for the Managua-based daily La Prensa, was beaten and handcuffed by members of President Daniel Ortega’s security personnel while covering an official event in the Nicaraguan capital, according to local press reports.
FEBRUARY 14, 2007 Posted February 21, 2007 William Aragón, La Prensa THREATENED Aragón, a correspondent in the northern Madriz province for the Managua-based daily La Prensa, received death threats from local government officials after reporting on local government corruption, the journalist told CPJ.
Leftists Lean on the Latin American MediaBy Carlos Lauría Latin America’s new leftist leaders may try to portray themselves as good news for the press, using the rhetoric of liberal democracy. But political and media analysts say these recently installed left-wing administrations are deeply rooted in the region’s longstanding culture of authoritarianism.
Overview by Carlos Lauría Journalists throughout the Americas came under increased attack in 2004 for reporting on political corruption, drug trafficking, and organized crime. Although democratic rights have been expanding in the region, press freedom has not always improved as a result.
Nicaragua Nicaraguan journalists say they are often able to work freely, but reporters in isolated regions where the government has little control remain at particular risk from drug traffickers and corrupt officials. Relations between the government and the press have improved since President Enrique Bolaños Geyer took office in 2002. Journalists say they are able…
New York, November 10, 2004—Reporter María José Bravo, who was covering a dispute over recent elections, was killed yesterday, November 9, outside an electoral office in the city of Juigalpa, capital of central Chontales Department. The 26-year-old Bravo, a correspondent for the Managua daily La Prensa in Chontales, had just exited the Juigalpa vote-counting center…