La Prensa

The information on the profile of this media was collected through desktop research. La Prensa, considered “the newspaper of Nicaraguans,” is the oldest newspaper in Nicaragua. Founded in 1926 - after 97 years of existence - La Prensa has been forced to report only through its digital platform as of August 2021, after the violent confiscation of its facilities by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. In August 2021, the Ortega-Murillo regime - accused of serious violations of human rights and freedom of the press and expression - confiscated the iconic building of the newspaper, the dean of journalism in Nicaragua. In addition, the Ortega-Murillo regime imprisoned general manager Juan Lorenzo Holmann and sentenced him to 9 years in prison for the fabricated crime of “money laundering.” Likewise, two more directors of the newspaper were imprisoned, Cristiana Chamorro Barrios and her brother Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios. Both Holmann and the brothers Cristiana and Pedro Joaquín Chamorro were released and deported from Nicaragua to the United States on February 9, 2023, along with 219 former political prisoners, in an unprecedented act in the history of this Central American country. The persecution against the independent press and journalists of La Prensa has reached such severity that the entire newsroom was forced into exile to protect their lives and freedom, after two were imprisoned drivers of the media after transporting journalists in a news coverage in July 2022. The two drivers have also been released from prison and deported to the United States. Both the 3 directors and the two drivers of the newspaper were arbitrarily stripped of their Nicaraguan nationality, after being declared "traitors to the country" by a judicial court controlled by the regime. In its 96 years of existence the medium, now completely digital, "has suffered closures, imprisonment of directors, the murder of its director Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, on January 10, 1978, bombing and burning of its facilities, siege by fanatical mobs, censorship, customs blockade of the supplies that make its printing possible, and finally, the occupation and theft of its real property, its facilities and work equipment." I highlight a statement from the media's Board of Directors in August 2022. In 2019, the newspaper LA PRENSA received the Journalistic Excellence award in the category of "internet news" granted by the SIP (Inter-American Press Association). This award highlighted exceptional coverage of the April 2018 protests and state repression. La Prensa was founded in 1926 by Gabry Rivas, Enrique Belli and Pedro Belli. And in 1932, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Zelaya became the sole owner of the newspaper, therefore his descendants, including sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, are the current owners of La Prensa.