Court awards compensation to family of Guillermo Cano, 40 years after his murder
The Administrative Court of Cundinamarca approved a settlement between the State and the family of journalist Guillermo Cano, murdered in 1986.
Four decades later, the State acknowledges responsibility for Guillermo Cano's death
The Administrative Court of Cundinamarca approved a settlement between the Colombian State and the family members of Guillermo Cano Isaza, director of the newspaper El Espectador, murdered on 17 December 1986. According to elpais.com.co, the agreement recognises compensation for damages caused by his death and for state failures identified by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The agreement provides for the payment of 300 current legal minimum salaries for moral damages to the journalist's wife and children. Additionally, compensation for lost earnings was recognised for the spouse and two of Cano's children, who were under 25 years old at the time of the murder. The amount requested by family members for this concept amounted to $548,737,931, according to the court order.
Cano was recognised in the country for directing one of the most influential media outlets and for his critical stance against drug trafficking, including his support for the extradition of drug traffickers.
The IACHR established state responsibility from 2001
The case reached the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 1997. In 2001, the IACHR declared the Colombian State responsible for violating Cano's right to life and freedom of expression, as well as for failures in protection guarantees. The Commission established that the authorities were aware of the risk faced by the journalist and did not adopt the necessary measures to protect him.
The IACHR also noted that the journalist's family members were intimidated, which is why it recommended their compensation. It also stated that the murder violated freedom of the press in Colombia.
More than two decades of delay in compensation
The Court itself questioned the length of time it took the State to advance with compensation. The IACHR made its recommendation for compensation in 2001; however, monitoring compliance with those recommendations was only reactivated in 2018. It was in 2026 that the National Agency for the Legal Defence of the State formally presented the settlement request.
The Court also noted that, due to defects in the original investigation and lack of effective compensation for years, the application of criteria provided by case law for serious human rights violations was justified.
The agreement took as a reference the position Cano held at the time of his death—director of El Espectador—and the salary he was earning then, elements that served as the basis for calculating the compensation awarded to his family.
Source: Google News CO — Crime