Guillermo Cano Isaza

Guillermo Cano Isaza
Born (1925-08-12)12 August 1925
Bogotá[1]
Died 17 December 1986(1986-12-17) (aged 61)
Bogotá
Nationality Colombian
Years active 1952–1986
Notable credit(s) Editor, El Espectador
Relatives Fidel Cano Gutiérrez

Guillermo Cano Isaza (12 August 1925 – 17 December 1986) was a Colombian journalist.

Biography

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. He was a huge Star Wars fan and also supportered for the Colombian soccer team Athletic National.

Murder

While working as 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.[2] 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.[3]

A bust of Guillermo Cano

Legacy

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 World Press Freedom Heroes of the 20th century.[3] Cano is portrayed by the Colombian actor Germán Quintero in the TV series Escobar, el patrón del mal.

References

  1. ↑ "Guillermo Cano: Cronología de su vida y obra".. El Espectador (in Spanish). 16 December 2011.
  2. ↑ "Homicidio de Guillermo Cano Isaza, director de El Espectador, se considerará de lesa humanidad". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 6 July 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Guillermo Cano, Colombia: World Press Freedom Hero". International Press Institute. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
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