219. Editorial Note
On June 20, 1979, American Broadcasting Company (ABC) staff correspondent Bill Stewart, his camera operator Jack Clark, an ABC technician Jim Celafo, a Nicaraguan interpreter, and a Nicaraguan driver entered a section of Managua to photograph “some of the action there.” After photographing a scene of heavy violence, the group proceeded past a checkpoint to another area of the neighborhood, whereupon Stewart and interpreter Juan Francisco Espinoza left the vehicle to enter the area on foot. Stewart and Espinoza became separated, while Clark continued to capture the scene on camera. Stewart approached a National Guard member, who forced Stewart to the ground with his arms outstretched, kicked him in the side, and shot him in the head. The remaining three men attempted to flee the scene; the National Guardsman motioned for the truck to move forward closer to Stewart’s body. The men then noticed that Espinoza had been killed nearby. Eventually the three men returned to the Intercontinental Hotel with Stewart’s body. (Telegram 2725 from Managua, June 20; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D790280–0112) On June 24, Somoza provided a message asking that the Embassy: “Accept my deepest condolences on the sad and tragic event,” promising, “I have [Page 559] already ordered a full investigation of this painful and useless incident and I can assure you that the individual or individuals responsible for it, either by action or omission, will receive the full weight of the law.” (Telegram 2786 from Managua, June 24; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D790286–0242)