Carlos José Guadamuz

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 for the journalist's murder.   

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 for the journalist's murder.   

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 to criticize Bolaños without reprisal, unlike under former President Arnoldo Alemán. Plagued by corruption scandals, many uncovered by the press, Alemán's government retaliated by doling out state advertising to reward or punish news outlets for their coverage.

New York, February 11, 2004—Nicaraguan journalist Carlos José Guadamuz was shot dead yesterday in Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, as he was arriving to work. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) continues to investigate whether his murder is related to his journalistic work.

According to local news reports, the journalist’s murder took place at around 1 p.m. in the parking lot of TV station Canal 23, where the journalist hosted the afternoon program "Dardos al centro" (Darts to the Bull’s-eye). As Guadamuz got out of his pick-up truck with one of his sons, a gunman, who apparently had been waiting for him, fired several shots at the journalist at point-blank range. The gunman then fled but stumbled and was captured by Guadamuz’s son and Canal 23 employees and was subdued. Guadamuz was taken to a Managua hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. The murderer has been identified as William Hurtado García, who worked as a local merchant and as a security guard.