Juan Lorenzo Holmann

Juan Lorenzo Holmann Chamorro is the General Manager of LA PRENSA.  Founded in 1926 by his grandfather, LA PRENSA is the oldest newspaper in Nicaragua and one of the oldest in Central America, recognized for its commitment to freedom, democracy, and justice in the face of attacks by dictatorships.    

In 2021, La Prensa was denied access to printing supplies by the Ortega regime, members of its board were detained, and police raided the newsroom, ultimately forcing the paper to stop its paper print. Holmann was then detained and taken to the infamous El Nuevo Chipote police facility, charged with money laundering and was sentenced in March 2022 to nine years in prison and a multimillion dollar fine in a trial without legitimate defense.   

At the time of his capture, Mr. Holmann was regional vice president of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), and in October 2021, IAPA awarded him the Grand Prize for Freedom of the Press.  In October 2022, while still in prison, he was reelected vice president for a second term.  All LA PRENSA journalists were forced into exile in July 2022. LA PRENSA buildings and equipment were confiscated by the regime in late July 2022.    

On February 9th 2023, with 221 other political prisoners, Mr. Holmann was forced into exile and stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship.  He was erased from all civil registries, his bank accounts seized by the government and his properties and investments confiscated.