Guillermo Cano Isaza
Encyclopedia
Guillermo Cano Isaza was a Colombia
n journalist.
The editor of the daily El Espectador
, he was murdered in front of the paper's offices by two hitmen linked to Colombia's drug cartels. It was assumed that the attack was in reprisal for a campaign he had launched in the paper to denounce the influence of drug traffickers in the country's politics. The same building was destroyed in a bomb attack three years later.
In an October 1995 ruling, four individuals (María Ofelia Saldarriaga, Pablo Enrique Zamora, Carlos Martínez Hernández, and Luis Carlos Molina Yepes) were found guilty of conspiring to commit his murder and sentenced to prison terms of 16 years, 8 months. However, on appeal, the convictions of all but Molina were overturned.
Guillermo Cano was the heir of Fidel Cano Gutiérrez
, the founder of El Espectador. As a journalist he had worked on the paper's bullfighting, sports, cultural and political sections. He had served as the editor of El Espectador since 1952.
In 1997, UNESCO
created an annual prize that bears his name—the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
—which serves to honour a person or institution that has done outstanding work in defending the freedom of the press
. In 2000 he was named one of International Press Institute
's 50 Heroes of World Press Freedom.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n journalist.
The editor of the daily El Espectador
El Espectador
El Espectador is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá...
, he was murdered in front of the paper's offices by two hitmen linked to Colombia's drug cartels. It was assumed that the attack was in reprisal for a campaign he had launched in the paper to denounce the influence of drug traffickers in the country's politics. The same building was destroyed in a bomb attack three years later.
In an October 1995 ruling, four individuals (María Ofelia Saldarriaga, Pablo Enrique Zamora, Carlos Martínez Hernández, and Luis Carlos Molina Yepes) were found guilty of conspiring to commit his murder and sentenced to prison terms of 16 years, 8 months. However, on appeal, the convictions of all but Molina were overturned.
Guillermo Cano was the heir of Fidel Cano Gutiérrez
Fidel Cano Gutiérrez
Fidel Cano Gutiérrez was a Colombian journalist, founder of El Espectador, Colombia's oldest newspaper....
, the founder of El Espectador. As a journalist he had worked on the paper's bullfighting, sports, cultural and political sections. He had served as the editor of El Espectador since 1952.
In 1997, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
created an annual prize that bears his name—the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, created in 1997, honours a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger.The...
—which serves to honour a person or institution that has done outstanding work in defending the freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
. In 2000 he was named one of International Press Institute
International Press Institute
International Press Institute is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. Founded in October 1950, the IPI has members in over 120 countries....
's 50 Heroes of World Press Freedom.