The Nicaraguan regime ordered the closure of two independent newscasts broadcast by Radio Stéreo Azul (RSA) from Chinandegaone directed by the communicator José Ernesto “Pepe” Fajardo, and another under the direction of the journalist Ricardo Delgado Ramos, both of whom have a long history and recognition.
As of Monday, August 8, its morning newscasts are suspended by order of the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Post Office (Telcor), confirmed a source from one of the affected media outlets. Article 66. The measure was imposed despite the fact that the newscasts did not address political issues and were limited to events, environmental and cultural content.
The “Noticiero Hechos”, by Pepe Fajardo, and the “Noticiero al Instante”, by Ricardo Delgado, had been on the air for more than 20 years, being founders of Radio Stereo Azul, the first FM radio station in the department that was born in July of 1997.
Related news: David Mendoza refused to ally himself with the FSLN and a month later his channel was closed
In an interview given by Delgado to local media, in 2019, he recounts that the radio administration hired him together with the renowned journalist Pepe Fajardo in September 1997. Some time later, due to lack of funds, the station’s management offered them a space radio due to the difficulty of continuing to pay them a monthly salary. In this way, the journalists assumed the direction and leadership of their newscasts. They survived with sponsorships and paid their controllers.
«The case of Pepe Fajardo is very unfortunate since he served as a means of denouncing the community about different problems in the neighborhoods, distributions and regions of Chinandega and other municipalities. The news radio of Don Ricardo Delgado Ramos, the dean of Chinandega communicators, placed a lot of emphasis on environmental news and how to protect our deteriorated natural resources,” listeners shared on social networks.
The source told this medium that he does not know the reasons for the sudden closure by the national authorities because, even, they were a reference for State institutions, even the Nicaraguan Army, which extended invitations to their public activities.
Related news: Wounded, detained, desecration and shots in the air: this was the police operation against the Church in Sébaco
“They close you down and they value your family, your very economic stability, your work that has not been questioned by the population, which is the one we serve,” he lamented.
He added that the suspension “creates a crisis, it forces you to think about what you are going to do. For me it was a surprise, but I thank God that I am in my home, next to my people; But, thinking about what I am going to do and, since these (the Government) control everything, I am looking for a way that this does not affect or make the owner of a media outlet afraid to give me a job to do a social service magazine. This destabilizes one, there has been a surprise within society. People are afraid to speak out.”
Persecution against the independent press
The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) denounced this week the government closure of 11 radio stations and four cable television channels in Nicaragua as “part of a campaign that aims to eliminate all vestiges of the independent press.”
Related news: Costa Rica expresses its concern about political prisoners and the press in Nicaragua
Most of the confiscated stations in the department of Matagalpa belong to the Catholic Church, an action framed in a “climate of police aggression against Catholic temples and priests.”
The IAPA called on the international community not to abandon the pressure for freedom of the press and democracy in Nicaragua, where Daniel Ortega has six journalists imprisoned.
