Witness of the death of journalist in Nicaragua talks
Ángel Gahona was the journalist who died in the last hours in the middle of the protests in Nicaragua by a shot in the head, while broadcasting on Facebook Live, what was happening in his city, Bluefields. Gaona was accompanied by a dozen journalists who supported and covered the demonstrations. Among them, the freelance Ileana Lacayo, who along with another colleague tried to take him to a hospital in a taxi. But they did not arrive on time.
This Monday, Ángel Gahona has been buried in his city. The freelance journalist who accompanied in his last hours has gone to the burial, and later has entered live in 'The Night' of COPE with Adolfo Arjona, with the emotion hardly contained: "I have jumped to tears", Lacayo confessed, after hearing that video in which the journalist practically filmed his death live.
Ileana Lacayo has told exactly what happened: "Half an hour before, a peaceful rally was over in protest for everything that is happening in the country, not only because of Social Security, but also because of the murders of so many young people ...The people had summoned themselves in the different marches of the city. When we arrived at the main square, in front of the Bluefield town hall, the spirits of some young people were heated".
At that time, according to the journalist's story, this crowd went down and burned a flag of the Sandinista Front, party to which President Daniel Ortega and the vice president, Rosario Murillo belong. They also tried to do the same with a label or large image of both leaders, although they could not at first. Then, Lacayo explained that they tried to mediate with the young people to calm them down. “The police surrounded us, but it was peaceful. We decided to go somewhere else, other than the public square or the park”, for fear that the violence would break out.
The journalist’s story hurts: "When everyone was going home, they tell us that a group of protesters are trying to lower the label of the presidential couple", Lacayo continued, pointing out that they then returned to that place. “There was an order to shoot to kill people who became violent and damaged public order". At that moment a battle broke out between protesters and police. Ángel Gahona, on the other hand, resumed his recording through Facebook Live. The group of journalists was behind the body of riot police. Gahona wanted to record an ATM damaged by the protesters when they shoot him.
According to his companion, "the shot came from the door of the mayor's office where there were two people: an officer and a riot police", although the police "has said absolutely nothing, only that the country is in a state of emergency and that they are doing their investigation". What is a fact is that 10,000 people in a city of 50,000 inhabitants bid farewell to Ángel Gahona on Monday. Although several people, during the ceremony, have asked the Government to clarify the facts, not much is expected in a region where governments and opposition turn to violence and forget the victims.