Media bias

So I happened to be on the Chicago Trib website today and came across this editorial, dated June 2nd, about the Eric Volz case in Nicaragua http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0602edit3jun02,0,5369321.story?coll=chi-newsopinion-hed. The 28 year old was accused of murdering his Nicaraguan girlfriend and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Honestly, I have no idea about whether the guy is innocent or guilty. But I have to say that this editorial is part of the media manipulation that Volz' family has been pushing across the US to try to free him. They are capitalizing on the ignorance of the American public about the situation in Nicaragua, raising up alarms that a communist Sandinista country is unjustly imprisoning innocent Americans. Also, saying that local hatred for Volz is "fueled by anti-American sentiment" is ridiculous. San Juan del Sur is a tourist town that thrives on American dollars. They warmly accept Americans to stay there and spend their money that helps to provide a living for their residents (although I don't think that American retirees buying up the coast and building huge homes in the second poorest country in the hemisphere is that laudable).

I read a couple of months ago in El Nuevo Diario that american journalists have been harassing residents of San Juan del Sur, witnesses and family and friends of the victim, trying to get them to change their position or say something to Volz' innocence. The article said that residents were sick of this harassment and wanted these journalists to stop bothering them and let them grieve in peace. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the guy killed his girlfriend and is trying to manipulate the media to show his innocence.