A Martyr of Journalism

On November 9 a La Prensa newspaper reporter who had written an exposé on the fiscal mismanagement of a corrupt mayor was assassinated in the town of Chontales. The mayor (now ex-mayor ) of the town took a .38 caliber pistol and gunned down María José Bravo, a 32 year old journalist and mother of a young son, in cold blood on the street. The mayor was immediately arrested and is in jail awaiting trial. For years journalists in Latin America and elsewhere have risked their lives to report the truth. For years this truth-telling cost them their lives as corrupt politicians had them assassinated. The 1978 assassination of the truth-telling La Prensa editor Pedro Joaquín Chamorro was a contributing factor to the downfall of dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979 and, later, in 1990, Chamorro's wife Violeta was elected president (a similar stroy happened in the Philippines with Benigno and Corazon Aquino). It remains to be seen what the consequences of this most recent politically motivated assassination will be, though I believe God is at work here as this country grows into a transparent democracy where truth-tellers are free to speak and corrupt politicians are held accountable.

Comments

[Jeffery Blanco]

Having been born in Nicaragua and my wife is from Nicaragua, I like your blog.

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