received the prestigious Ibero-American Award at the King of Spain International Journalism Awards (2018), from Agencia EFE and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for his report «They shot with precision: at to kill!» . On that occasion the jury affirmed:
«[It is an] interesting example of investigation, which provides conclusive and very serious data on the repression of the protests that have occurred in Nicaragua since April 2018 and that the Government of that country had denied… it had a great impact in the media and networks and aroused the interest of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which included the data obtained in its report on the situation in Nicaragua and it was shown that the shots were not accidental, but carried out by snipers.
This year, Wilfredo Miranda, along with the entire team from the digital media Divergentes, was awarded the 2022 Ortega y Gasset Award for the best multimedia coverage: The challenge after the massacre: memory, truth, justice and non-repetition, a series of reports which, according to Miranda «…is our contribution as journalists to an eventual international justice process to establish responsibilities.»
PEN Uruguay interviewed Wilfredo to find out about the situation of Nicaraguan journalism in the face of a dictatorship that, according to journalist Stephen Kingser, The New York Times war correspondent for Nicaragua during the 1980s, is «the most brutal regime in Latin America«.
PEN Uruguay: «What was awarded in this series of multimedia reports by Ortega y Gasset 2022?»
Wilfredo Miranda: We received the Ortega y Gasset award with great astonishment, since it is an award that has only been won by colleagues that we, from the writing of Divergentes, admire and respect. For this reason, obtaining the award in the best multimedia category for the special «The Challenge after the Massacre: truth, justice and non-repetition» has meant a breath of oxygen in a context as hostile to the exercise of the trade, as is Nicaragua. under the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. What Ortega y Gasset rewards is the persistence, courage and rigor of a team of reporters made up mostly of young people who are under 38 years of age and who try to practice journalism that contributes to the search for justice in Nicaragua.
We made this special for a whole year, after considering the need that exists in the country to build memory around the crimes against humanity committed by police and paramilitaries of the Sandinista regime. The contribution of the journalism of «Divergentes» has been to make a deep x-ray of the repressive gear of the dictatorship, clearly delimiting the masterminds and perpetrators of all the repressive phases. Identify the evolution of the repression and its patterns, through the voices of the victims above all, and with official sources –very scarce– that result in a mosaic that overlaps to dimension the massacre that was committed in Nicaragua.
The Challenge after the Massacre is our contribution as journalists to an eventual international justice process to establish responsibilities. It is an essential exercise because Nicaragua is a very forgetful country, which still does not fully know what happened during Somocism, during the first Sandinista dictatorship and during the April massacre, the worst bloodshed since the war. In that sense, this journalistic exercise approaches the truth with humanism, ethics, rigour, contrasting the information and gave us as a result this special multimedia that has been awarded the Ortega y Gasset. We believe that the award received is a boost for independent journalism in Nicaragua in general, because it does not give in to the repressive onslaught.
PEN Uruguay: “How have the independent media in Nicaragua managed to continue doing professional journalism?”
Wilfredo Miranda: As I said before, “nica” journalism has not given in to the brutal onslaught of the dictatorship. In the current circumstances, to continue, not to remain silent in order to continue informing, implies two unavoidable realities: exile or going to jail. Most independent journalists have ruled out the second option, since we are very clear that an imprisoned journalist is useless. Since June 2021, when the government launched the Prosecutor’s Office to intimidate the independent press, more than 120 of us have gone into exile. So in exile we have found a way to reinvent ourselves, with all the difficulties that this implies at an editorial, personal and economic level.
In the case of “Divergentes”, most of the team continues in Nicaragua doing almost clandestine work. Although we believe in journalism that goes to the streets to kick them, the police state imposed in Nicaragua every day leaves fewer loopholes for reporters to move.
The persecution against journalists has not only meant that Nicaragua is the only country that does not have a printed newspaper in the entire Western Hemisphere, that three newsrooms have been confiscated (La Prensa, Confidencial and 100% Noticias), three journalists are in jail, but which means that there are no sources left to speak of, that there are laws designed to criminalize free expression and the press. Reporters do not sign their reports for security reasons, they have to constantly move house due to police harassment, their families are harassed and the emotional burden becomes very uncomfortable. It cannot be denied that many media outlets have succumbed to official pressure and a worrying but understandable self-censorship has been installed. Each journalist is the owner of his own fear and only he knows how far to go and what he is willing to sacrifice… Despite all this, the «Divergent» team does not give up its efforts to continue doing journalism that goes to remote communities, which finds the way to connect with sources despite the information blackout imposed by the government; continue researching beyond the daily agenda to get works like the award-winning one, which offers dimension to readers.
PEN Uruguay: “How is it possible to maintain coverage and sources in a country where there is a strong police state and a judiciary that condemns opponents and journalists? Even the same sources can be prosecuted for giving their opinion.”
Wilfredo Miranda: It is very difficult. If you go into the independent media in Nicaragua, you will see a lot of anonymous sources. We do not believe in the abuse of anonymity, but it has become the only way to preserve the freedom of the few sources that still dare to speak in Nicaragua. Anonymity forces us to be more rigorous when telling: contrast, check more times, look for more evidence to tell the reader, look here, it is not only the opinion of an anonymous person but we have verified by our own means what this source says . It is a more arduous job but it is our responsibility to fulfill it if we really want to do journalism without fissures, proof of government hoaxes and its propaganda that detract from it on a daily basis.
PEN Uruguay: «After 2018, several digital news platforms emerged in Nicaragua such as «Article 66», «Despacho 505», «Nicaragua Investigates», among others, and even «Divergentes» itself: How do you assess that, in the face of censorship and reprisals, has journalism responded with more media in Nicaragua?”
Wilfredo Miranda: At least 14 digital media emerged in Nicaragua as a result of the censorship after the 2018 protests. It has been a litter of media made by brave colleagues and they have found on the internet and social networks the last redoubt that the government has not able to control and censor. This spectrum of media is valuable. In that sense, when “Divergentes” was born, we saw that there was a good supply of “breaking news”, but not in-depth journalism, analysis, chronicles, investigations… we identified that gap and literally jumped in with that ambition in hand. At the same time we set out to combine journalistic rigor with new ways of telling, on new platforms to reach more varied audiences; we produce and design our content with one priority: vertically, since most of our visits come from mobiles. We try to make journalism more affordable, more entertaining that not only provides the reader with quality information but also a good user experience on our platforms. In that sense, Nicaraguan journalism is not only brave but it is also very complete and it is a wall that the government has not been able to completely break down, as it has done with the opposition, human rights organizations, NGOs, etc.
PEN Uruguay: “Nicaraguan journalism has had a tradition of denouncing power, but also of censorship and repression throughout its history. Could you give us a description of journalism in Nicaragua before April 2018 and after that date? Has it changed or is it the same?”
Wilfredo Miranda: Before 2018, Nicaragua was already a regime allergic to the press. However, there was an official tolerance, so to speak, broader. That is to say, the government did not dare to close media as it did later for a matter of safeguarding appearances. However, the social outbreak of 2018 changed everything and the media were key to documenting the serious human rights violations; as in my case the extrajudicial executions committed by police and paramilitaries. The regime understood that and went against journalism, to dismantle it to the fullest. So we entered a phase of resistance, exile and new challenges. But that, journalism in Nicaragua has always endured the shocks of dictatorships. Thus, paraphrasing the headline of La Prensa in 1978 when Pedro Joaquin Chamorro was assassinated, those buried are always them, the satraps like Somoza and now Ortega. Resisting and not giving up is part of the DNA of “nica” journalists.
PEN Uruguay: “To conclude, we want to ask you this simple question about this profession, why do you dedicate yourself to journalism?˝
Wilfredo Miranda: I give you a hackneyed answer but I think it’s the right thing to do: because it’s worth it. Because it is a commitment that is renewed after each report to try to contribute to having a better country, a better world. Journalism, as Alma Guillermoprieto said, is a privilege to be in the front row even if the show is disastrous. It is a fascinating experience all the time. A hard beat, but worth it.