New York - Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, more than other leaders in the region, has waged an aggressive campaign against the media and considers journalists enemies to his government, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The New York-based committee said in a fresh report on freedom of the press in the region that Ortega, who returned to power in 2006, has deep mistrust of independent media. Ortega headed the leftist Sandinista government from 1979 to 1990, during which he fought with Washington over regional issues.
CPJ said that Ortega has since his election in 2006 defined independent news media as "enemies" and moved aggressively to obstruct them and minimize their influence. The tactics included systematic legal harassment, smear campaigns and manipulation of government advertising.
"Latin American leaders across the political spectrum, from Venezuela's Hugo Chavez to Colombia's Alvaro Uribe, have pursued similar media strategies," CPJ said in the report written by Carlos Lauria and Joel Simon. Ortega is well known for ties with leaders in Venezuela and Cuba.
"But the degree to which Ortega has sought to insulate himself from public scrutiny is unusual in the region," the report said.
"His policies have threatened institutions that serve as a check on power and have jeopardized foreign aid important to the country's economic well-being," it said.
The report said Ortega has never given an official press conference and his political agenda is "virtually unknown" while government officials are inaccessible.
It said the only journalists who have access to the government work for official media outlets controlled by Ortega's family members or his party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
