In a communiqué, she expressed particular regret that the measure will deprive the Nicaraguan population of the benefits of cooperation in educational and cultural matters.

Managua rejected the award granted to La Prensa, which it described as “a diabolical spawn of anti-patriots” and accused of promoting violence, hate crimes, anti-values and interference.

It also called it deeply shameful that Unesco should act as an accomplice to an action that “offends and attacks the deepest values of Nicaraguan national identity and culture”.

Over the weekend, the multilateral body announced that the 2025 edition of the award named after the murdered Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano would go to La Prensa, with the award ceremony scheduled for May 7 in Brussels, in the context of the World Press Freedom Conference.

Azoulay said that Unesco’s mandate is to defend freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and that it does so, among other initiatives, through the aforementioned prize.

In this regard, she said that this award, which is given each year to a person, organization or institution, is proposed by an independent professional jury.

The general director also said that “after the imprisonment and expulsion from the country of its leaders, as well as the confiscation of its assets, La Prensa has continued to inform the Nicaraguan population digitally, with most of its team in exile, operating from Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico, Germany and the United States”.

It also reflected in the communiqué the arguments of the Nicaraguan government and its denunciation that the newspaper promotes “the military and political interventions of the United States in Nicaragua”.

The Central American nation’s withdrawal from the 194-member state entity will come into effect on December 31, 2026.

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